


hooked

by theafterimages



Series: coed got7 [1]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Background Relationships, Concerts, Cunnilingus, Dream Sex, Feelings, Flashbacks, Frottage, Grocery Shopping, Jealousy, Multi, Mutual Pining, Past Relationship(s), Sweaters, Teasing, so many feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2018-08-12 08:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7928551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theafterimages/pseuds/theafterimages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jinri is one of the newest cast members of We Got Married. Jaebum, of course, is Completely Fine With This. (Coed GOT7 AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raindropcakes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raindropcakes/gifts).



> So a while back one of my favorite people and I made a deal: for every miniature GOT7 plushie she made me, I would write her 4k of fic. I currently owe her 12k, and her first request was a coed GOT7 au: one in which Mark, Jinyoung, and Youngjae are Mari, Jinri, and Youngju respectively. I'm not sure how long this is going to end up being, but I have several chapters planned out and hope to update at least twice a month.
> 
> I'm not exactly the world's foremost expert on We Got Married, so if any of y'all have information to volunteer or want to fact check, I would definitely welcome the help. ♥ I hope you enjoy the story!

“We Got Married.”

Jaebum blinks at her, the world going off-kilter for a second. “Sorry, what?”

Jinri shakes her head, her full, pink lips spreading in her wry, _what am I going to do with this oppa?_ smile. (Jaebum can think of a number of things he’d like her to do to him. Like hold his hand. He’d be horrified by how thoroughly Jinri has him wrapped around her finger, but he’s had years now to resign himself to his fate.)

“They asked me if I wanted to be on We Got Married,” she says again. “I told them yes, but I wanted to talk it over with you.”

Jaebum has seen We Got Married, of course, has laughed at its obviously scripted nature and cringed at its sappier moments. It’s not like he hasn’t thought about how JYPE is due to send another idol on the show soon, or about how Jinri is good at variety, cute and charming and good at reading a room. He just hadn’t put the two ideas together before.

Jinri on We Got Married, holding some other guy’s hand and leaning against his side; calling him her _husband_ … “Who are you going to be with?” he asks abruptly. At least then he’ll know who to seethe about.

“Nothing’s final yet, but I asked them to tell me and they finally did,” she says. Of course they did. Jinri can talk anyone into doing anything. “They said the producers are hoping it’ll be Sehun-ssi.”

Sehun. Okay. On the one hand, at least Sehun is a friend of theirs. Jackson is always talking about how he’s a good guy. He’s not someone who will hit on Jinri between takes. Or who Jinri can call ‘oppa’ in that coy tone that turns Jaebum’s brain inside out on the rare occasions she uses it on him. Small mercies. 

This won’t be so bad, Jaebum tells himself.

 

 

He’s rethinking that two days later while he’s stuck in the living room as GOT7’s three female members watch a million Sehun fancams. _Research_ , Jinri had called it, like they haven’t all met him already. Jaebum could point out that they can just ask Jackson anything they want to know, but he decides not to give Jinri the satisfaction. 

“ _Oh_ , he has nice shoulders,” Youngju comments with a giggle. Jaebum’s sensible Youngju, giggling over some guy! Jaebum is Outraged. “Look how broad they are.”

“Can’t, I’m looking at his butt,” Mari says with a grin. Which—is no surprise. Mari is always looking at somebody’s ass, though she’s mostly stopped talking about it when Jackson’s around. Unless she’s trying to provoke him.

Jaebum immediately looks at Jinri. She’s been too quiet during this marathon. She has something to say, Jaebum knows it, and he’s not going to like it.

As if Jinri can read Jaebum’s mind, that’s when she grins, too. “Those pants show _everything_ ,” she agrees, her tone arch with a level of suggestiveness that leaves no room to wonder just what she’s referring to.

The other two girls’ laughter rings through the room as Jinri dramatically trails her tongue over her lower lip; he’s not sure if they notice how she follows it with a glance at Jaebum, wicked and knowing. 

_Jinri noona is the best at 19+ things_ , Jaebum remembers Yugyeom thoughtlessly teasing in a long ago interview before the others had scolded him for how his words had sounded and he’d hastily apologized. It’s true. Jaebum’s not sure what he’s going to die of first, We Got Married-related jealousy or Jinri-induced lust.

Either way, it’ll be death by Park Jinri. It’s a fate Jaebum had resigned himself to years ago.

 

 

Jinri has been a constant presence in Jaebum’s life ever since their auditions years ago; when they were JYPE’s first and only joint winners, and gave JYP himself the inspiration to put his long-simmering plan for a coed group into action. 

They had debuted as a subunit, JJ Project, back in 2012, the company’s test run before committing to a full group. They had done more than well enough, gaining enough public interest to even earn them a comeback before the company had put the subunit on hold and had Jinri and Jaebum focus on preparing to debut as two members of GOT7.

Jaebum has never had any illusions about just why they were so popular: he was the one the company had pushed hardest, but Jinri was far and away the one that earned them the most attention. From day one she had had the general public eating out of her hand, gaining headlines every time she so much as breathed. People had wondered if Jaebum was jealous, but he really wasn’t—it had made it easy for him to kick back and let her do the work. 

A mindset that was probably one of the reasons it took so long for them to truly get along. Jinri had expected him to put in as much effort as she did—which in retrospect Jaebum feels bad about, but at the time would have been easier to come around on had she not gotten the message across with passive-aggressiveness or sharp comments.

Then again, maybe things would have been easier if they both weren’t trying to use it as an excuse to ignore the attraction perpetually simmering between them, blowing minor conflicts out of proportion and pushing at or pulling away from each other by turns. They had both known that the public would react very differently to rookie idols who were confirmed to be dating than they would to likable rookie idols with good chemistry; they had both decided that acting on that chemistry wouldn’t be worth the risk, something they had never talked about but mutually understood, the way they’ve learned to understand so many things about each other without words. It’s a decision they’re both stuck to, even though Jaebum has long since realized that not acting on his feelings doesn’t mean he can will them away.

 

 

It seems like every night Jaebum can’t sleep, he wanders into the common room only to find Jinri already on the sofa. There are some times when she is completely absorbed in one book or another, pushing bedtime back for the sake of reading another chapter or five. Some nights, though, he finds her burrowed in blankets and staring sightlessly at the television as it plays footage of herself she can tear apart, or of other female idols Jinri looks on with a mix of wonder and terror, always dreading the day that one of them will be the one to replace her in the eyes of the public.

Tonight is a television night. It only takes Jaebum a few seconds to recognize the show playing as an episode of Victoria and Nickhun’s arc on We Got Married. 

“Can’t sleep?” he asks quietly. 

Jinri peeks out from her nest of blankets, then offers him a smile that doesn’t come anywhere near reaching her eyes. After all this time, he’s not sure why she still tries to use her pretend smiles on any of them (or how anyone who doesn’t know her better could prefer them to her real ones). “No, so I’m preparing,” she admits. “You can’t, either?”

 _I can’t stop thinking about you with Sehun_ , he doesn’t say. _I can’t stop thinking about how one day you being with someone else will be real_. “I’m hungry,” he tells her instead, even though it’s not entirely true--thinking about We Got Married is killing his appetite.

“Boys,” she says with a snort. “You’re always hungry.”

Her amusement is genuine, at least. That’s an improvement; it makes his pride swell a little, knowing he caused it.

“Do you want to go to the convenience store with me?” he offers impulsively. “I’ll treat.” Getting Jinri out of the living room--and hopefully out of her own head, if only for a little while--feels like the best idea he’s had in days.

“Such a generous leader,” she says with a small smile. “But I can’t--I’m on a diet, remember?”

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” he says conspiratorially. 

“I can’t, not with the show starting. I have to look my best.”

“You always do.”

But she shakes her head. “I can’t. It’s different for girls.”

He’s lost count of the number of times he’s heard her say that, whether it was the first time he caught her crying over netizen comments or nearly every screaming match they had had during their JJ Project days, when a combination of the pressure to blaze a trail for an entire coed group and being caught between their need to both play up and suppress the ever increasing attraction between them had continually brought out the worst in them both.

Jaebum sighs and sits down next to her. “Hand me the remote,” he tells her. As soon as she does, he turns the TV off.

“I was watching that,” she protests. “They were so popular. I need to know-”

“You’ve seen it,” Jaebum says, albeit gently. “You’re the most prepared person I know. If it were Mari or Youngju going on the show, you’d probably be in charge of preparing them.” 

“But they aren’t,” Jinri says. “It’s me. I’m the one representing GOT7 every week, I’m the one-”

“You’re the best one for the job,” Jaebum tells her. He’s learned not to wait for her to fall silent when she gets like this; she may be one of the quieter group members, but when it comes to self-criticism she has more to say than anyone. “You know what to say, you know how to behave, and you’re good at making other people feel comfortable. You’ll be great. I trust you.”

Jinri nods slowly, then leans sideways against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Thank you, oppa,” she mumbles. “You’re the best leader.”

He wraps his arm around her shoulders. She’s still wrapped in blankets, but they still fit together just right, the way they always have. “Because of you,” he admits quietly. It’s not something he would normally say--he loves all of his members and would do anything for them, but expressing that in words still makes him cringe with his full body. But being with Jinri like this, in a quiet late night bubble of their own making, makes admitting it feel like the easiest thing in the world.

“I know,” she says, her voice lilting. “I deserve a medal.”

“You deserve everything.”

“So cheesy,” she says, but burrows closer to him anyway.

 

 

“Guys. Wake up.”

Jaebum wakes up slowly as the hissed words register, his eyes fluttering open right as Mari shakes his arm. It takes a few seconds, but everything falls into place--he’s on the sofa, pre-dawn light trickling in through the living room blinds, and Jinri is curled up in his arms, soft and warm, her face pressed against his neck.

Jaebum sits up fast, ignoring the twinge of guilt he feels as Jinri utters a sleepy whine of protest. “Are the managers here yet?” he whispers frantically to Mari.

“No, we have a few minutes,” she says. “You’re lucky I needed to let Coco out.”

“I know, I know.” He rubs his eyes. _Fuck_. The managers already watch him and Jinri closely as it is. The last thing he wants is for anyone to think he and Jinri were irresponsible enough to let anything happen between them.

He carefully extricates himself from the sofa. Meanwhile Jinri, ever the heaviest sleeper in GOT7, finally stirs. “Is it time to go already?” she whines. 

They should coax Jinri up, he knows, and send her to the girls’ side of the dorm to get ready to leave for filming. But as he looks down at her, the frown lines between her brows and the sleepy pout on her beautiful lips, he can’t summon the will to be stern leader JB just yet.

“Five more minutes,” he murmurs. Jinri snuggles back into the blanket as if on command, her breathing evening out in sleep again. He can’t resist the impulse to lean down and kiss the top of her head, although he regrets it as soon as he meets Mari’s eyes.

 

 

Jaebum spends the day writing—or trying to, anyway. Now that JYPE includes songs from the GOT7 members themselves on their albums, Jaebum tries to contribute as many as possible. He loves the sound they have all developed for their group together, and wants GOT7 to be popular for who they are as artists, not just for the novelty of being a mixed-gender group.

But nothing he’s writing clicks today, not when it’s too easy for his thoughts to wander to how bright and pretty Jinri had looked when she had left the dorm this morning; how vulnerable and worried she had been the night before; how warm and sweet it had been to wake up with her in his arms, even though his back is still aching from holding that cramped position on the sofa for hours. He’d do it again in a heartbeat for Jinri, though; he’d do anything for Jinri…

He flips his notebook shut impatiently and gets up from the desk he’s been using. He’s not going to get anything done today, and there’s no point in wasting time pretending otherwise, especially not when all he wants is to be home when Jinri gets there. He needs to make sure that filming went well, and that Sehun is a good partner for her. Maybe he should have gone by EXO’s dorm and talked to Sehun ahead of time, after all. He had told himself that he would seem too much like a jealous boyfriend if he did that, but if it would have helped Jinri…

Jinri finally returns to the dorm a few hours later; hours Jaebum _doesn’t_ spend pacing nonstop, no matter how the other members tease him. He’s planning to sneak her out of the dorm and treat her to anything she wants if she’s still stressed, no matter what the managers say. 

But Jinri is all smiles as the members swarm, Yugyeom and Bambam asking a thousand questions and Mari wrapped around her. Sometimes variety filming leaves Jinri drained for hours, and Jaebum knows that Mari, as the group’s other introvert, understands that better than the rest of them.

Jinri seem perfectly fine today, though. “Sehun is really nice,” she tells them. “I think we’re going to have a lot of fun.”

“You’re already talking about him informally?” Jaebum asks.

Jinri smiles at him. “Since we’re the same age and we’re going to see each other so much, we agreed to speak informally while we’re not filming.”

“That’s… good,” Jaebum says, even though the idea doesn’t sit well with him at all.

“He’s as nice as Jackson says,” Jinri says. “I think we’re going to be really good friends.”

Friendship is good, Jaebum tells himself. Jinri needs more friends outside of their company. This is a good thing.

“Is he as nice as his shoulders?” Youngju asks, and entirely too many GOT7 members giggle.

Jaebum grits his teeth and tries not to think about how long this show might last.  



	2. Chapter Two

It’s so hot; Jaebum’s hands slip down Jinri’s sweat-slick back, hips thrusting up to meet hers as she rides him frantically.

“ _Oppa_ ,” she moans, clutching his hair as he closes his lips over the tip of one breast, and cries out when he thumbs over the other nipple, her fingers sinking into his hair to hold him in place. “Oppa, please-” She’s so soft and so sweet; is so wet and hot for him. Perfect. Of course she’s perfect.

He doesn’t notice when he moved, but suddenly he’s kissing Jinri instead, swallowing her whimpers and moans. She’s moving faster, desperate, shaking in his arms—

“I love you-” he pants.

And then his eyes snap open.

He’s flat on his back in bed, yes, but he’s alone. Even Jackson isn’t in his own bed across the room, since he’s away filming one of his many shows in China.

Jaebum bucks up into nothingness before he can stop himself, intensely aroused and his mind still clouded with fantasies of Jinri. Once his mind clears, though, he rolls over and muffles a yell into his pillow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Are you sure you don’t want more seolleongtang?” Jinri asks him sweetly at breakfast, leaning in much too close to Jaebum. Jaebum could see down her blouse if he wanted to—not that he would!

He shuts his eyes, but that just makes the light, floral scent of her perfume even clearer. He didn’t smell that during the dream, at least. Though great, now he’s just thinking of holding her close enough to still detect the notes of it underlying the smell of sex—

“I’m fine,” he croaks.

“Maybe something sweeter?” Jinri asks, and giggles when he full-body startles at that. She strokes her hand down the back of his neck before she walks away. 

Jaebum can’t quite resist the temptation to watch her go.

“Dat ass,” Mari says cheerfully, and Jaebum’s head whips around so he can stare at her.

“Yeah,” Yugyeom says with a dreamy sigh, oblivious to the glare this earns him from Bambam.

Jaebum groans. It’s too early for any of this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jaebum always monitors his members’ activities, so when Jinri’s first We Got Married episode airs he dutifully watches it, flanked by Yugyeom and Bambam on the couch.

“I’ve met Sehun before, actually,” Jinri explains in her first talking head segment, pretty and appealing in her sailor style blouse and impeccable makeup. Not so much as a flash of the Jinri who lies around the dorm in hoodies and gym shorts on their days off, or sports bras and sweatpants on her way to bed, barefaced and with her hair in a messy ponytail. “He’s friends with one of my members, Jackson.” 

No mention of how those two met through Zitao, whose relationship with Sehun back then had been one of K-pop’s worst kept secrets; or of the nights now when Jackson comes back from visiting Sehun at EXO’s dorm loose-limbed and glowing. K-pop’s smoke and mirrors are firmly in place here.

Sehun gets most of the focus in this episode, as he goes on his quest to reach Jinri, pretending to wonder who his partner for the show will be. 

“He’s too quiet,” Jaebum says, arms folded over his chest. “Jinri’s going to have to do all the work.” 

If Jinri herself were here she probably would have called him out on that, after what their time in JJ Project had been like, but Yugyeom and Bambam let him get away with it.

“Everyone will think it’s cute,” Bambam tells him. 

Yugyeom nods. “Sometimes fans like it when the man is shyer. Like with Sungjae hyung and Joy-ssi.”

Jaebum is unconvinced but decides to let it go. For now.

Eventually Sehun finds his way to where Jinri is waiting, and they exchange nervous greetings. Sehun can’t quite seem to meet her eyes, and Jinri is using her coy voice, the one that makes so many male—and female—fans fumble with their words during fan sign events. 

“They look really nice together,” Yugyeom notes. “The height difference is really good.”

Bambam nods from where he’s settled himself on Yugyeom’s lap. Why he ever sits anywhere else is beyond Jaebum, since he always seems to end up draped over Yugyeom eventually. “Sehun-ssi is so tall.”

“He’s not _that_ tall,” Jaebum grumbles. 

But as jealous as he is, even he has to acknowledge that they’re off to a good start. Yugyeom and Bambam are genuinely engrossed in watching, after all, and he trusts their opinions. 

“Their personalities seem like a good match,” one of the panelists remarks as their segment ends, and the others chime in to agree.

Jaebum scoffs. Sehun may be a good match for the image Jinri projects on variety shows, but in real life he seems too soft and sweet for her. What the real Jinri needs is someone who can meet her head-on and challenge her and keep her thinking. Someone who doesn’t just always let her have her way. If she really dated someone like Sehun, she’d get bored quickly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing Jaebum does when he wakes up is scroll through his phone, browsing online comments and K-pop sites. They had all known that Jinri and Sehun’s stint on We Got Married would get a lot of attention, and sure enough there are a lot of articles and posts to read. The consensus is overwhelmingly positive, he’s relieved—and unsurprised—to see, their fans and regular series viewers alike agreeing that they are off to a good start.

When he emerges from the guys’ side of the dorm he finds Jinri curled up on the couch again. Her gaze is fixed on her phone, but snaps up to meet his as soon as he makes it through the door.

“People liked it,” she says, her voice stunned. 

Four years in and the only person not convinced of Jinri’s ability to turn everything she touches into gold is Jinri herself. Jaebum wishes there were some way he could transfer how much he believes in her so that she will never doubt herself again; but then, if that were possible her mutual reassurance talks with Jackson probably would have long since done the trick. “Of course they did,” he says gently. “It’s you.”

He can see her swallow, and she opens her mouth to speak, but is forestalled when Yugyeom and Youngju burst in from the kitchen, phones in hand and congratulations bubbling forth from both of them. Jaebum lets himself fade into the background, though no matter how much the kids talk Jinri’s eyes always come back to Jaebum before long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jaebum never gets to see Hyunwoo often enough. Usually Jinri joins them, the three of them slipping away together like in their trainee days, but she’s filming a guest role on a drama tonight, so it’s just Hyunwoo and Jaebum.

They meet at a nearby pool hall. Jaebum hasn’t been there since—well, since the last time they met up, and Hyunwoo teases him about being out of practice as they play a warm-up game.

At first they just catch up, making easy small talk, but eventually the conversation turns to We Got Married. “I heard Jinri’s ratings were really good,” Hyunwoo comments. 

Jaebum nods. Jinri has gotten steadily more relaxed as the responses have continued pouring in. Fans are overwhelmingly supportive, and media outlets have nothing but good things to say. “I knew they would be,” he says. 

“I watched it, too,” Hyunwoo says. “It was weird to see her with someone else when it’s always been about you, for her.” His tone is absent, his eyes focused on darting from one pocket to the next, obviously planning his next shot. “Even when we-” He stops short, his gaze flying up from the pool table to meet Jaebum’s.

Jaebum goes very, very still. “When you what? You and Jinri?”

It’s not like Jaebum thinks Jinri has been a nun. She and Wonpil have never been subtle, for one thing, and Jaebum walked in on her and Mari kissing in practice rooms a few times back in their trainee days. But Hyunwoo is different. Hyunwoo is both of theirs. Jaebum can’t think of many people that hearing this from would shock him more.

Hyunwoo straightens up and sighs. “It was only once, back when you guys were JJ Project. You guys had had a big fight, and she was upset, so she called me and I told her to come over.”

“Then what?”

“Jaebum-”

“It was years ago, right, hyung?” Jaebum smiles, but not pleasantly, his grip tightening on his cue stick. “You can tell me.”

Hyunwoo frowns but gives in. “We talked about your fight. It was about her and Wonpil. You told her she was risking the group, she slapped you…”

Jaebum winces. Yeah, he remembers that one; easily their ugliest fight, which was saying something, him seething with jealousy after catching her sneaking in from meeting Wonpil and her frustrated after months of conflict and tension.

“She said you didn’t own her; that if you didn’t want to be with her, she could do what she wanted.” Hyunwoo looks evenly at him. “She was right. No matter how you guys felt about each other, you didn’t have any claim on her.”

“I know,” Jaebum says numbly. It had been especially true then, since he had been dating someone else—in large part, he has long since realized, to attempt to distract himself from Jinri, though instead all it had done was create more conflict. “So, what, you kissed her?” God, he hopes that’s all. Hyunwoo is right about him having no claim on Jinri, but that doesn’t mean he likes the idea of Hyunwoo and Jinri sleeping together.

“She kissed me,” Hyunwoo clarifies. “And I kissed her back, but then I stopped her.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re both my friends, and I wouldn’t have liked it if either of you kissed the person I cared about,” Hyunwoo says simply. “And because I don’t want to be anyone’s stand-in.”

Jaebum sighs, some of the tension in him easing. That sounds more like Hyunwoo. “How did Jinri take it?”

“She understood. She apologized, we talked some more, she left. I didn’t tell you because, like I said, it wasn’t your business.” Hyunwoo smiles ruefully. “But it wouldn’t have been fair if I didn’t tell you the whole story after what I said.”

Jaebum nods. “Thanks, hyung.”

Hyunwoo nods back. Jaebum almost thinks that that’s it, but after Hyunwoo takes his shot he adds, “Why are you still waiting? You should talk to her.”

“What am I supposed to say? We can’t date. Being an idol is everything to Jinri. She’s come so far, and if we got caught... I can’t ask her to risk everything for me.”

“Shouldn’t that be Jinri’s choice?”

Jaebum shrugs. “It is. If it weren’t, she’d do something about it.”

“Are you sure?” Hyunwoo asks.

Jaebum smiles faintly. Is he sure that Jinri must know after all this time that he’s hers; that he’ll be anything she wants, if she says the word? “Yeah. I’m sure.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Jaebum gets home, he just wants to go straight to bed, but his phone buzzes almost as soon as he locks the door behind him. Jinri. Of course.

_is that you?_

_yes_ , he texts back.

The door to the girls’ side opens seconds later and Jinri pads into the room, carrying a thick book and making straight for him. Her face is lit up, the way it always is when she’s just finished a good book and is determined to make him read it next. She’s still wearing her glasses, too, a sight that always hits Jaebum hard even after all these years—he can’t help but imagine taking them off her, then her shirt…

“I bet you won’t guess who did it,” she says, interrupting his thoughts as she holds the second Cormoran Strike book out to him.

“I always do,” Jaebum reminds her as he takes it. “Before you.”

“You do not,” she debates, even though it’s true. 

He shakes his head but decides to let it go. For now. Maybe it’ll give them something new to debate for a few months' worth of broadcasts. “How was filming?” he asks instead.

“It was fine. I was done in one take.”

“As expected,” he teases. Jinri has always been the best of them at acting, ever since back when she and Jaebum were in Dream High 2. 

“I have an image to uphold,” she says solemnly, though there’s laughter lighting her eyes. 

Jaebum is reminded of his conversation with Hyunwoo. Jinri _does_ have an image to uphold, and he of all people knows that it’s more important to her than anything. “When do you film for We Got Married?” he asks abruptly.

Her smile fades. “In a few days. I’ll try to make sure you and the kids have an interesting episode to watch.”

“I bet,” he says dryly. He does, at least, like getting to spend that time with Yugyeom and Bambam.

Jinri searches his expression; then, as if she can read his mind, “Youngju sent me a picture of you guys watching the show together. It was cute.”

Youngju had been in the room, but she had been focused on her game, like usual. Jaebum hadn’t even been sure if she had realized they were there. “We had fun,” he agrees. Minus all the time he spent seething about Sehun, but he decides not to mention that.

“Just as long as they know you’ve already picked your favorite member,” Jinri not-quite-teases.

“Don’t worry,” Jaebum tells her. “They know.”

“Good,” Jinri says with satisfaction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(“We can’t let the others see us like this,” was the first thing Jinri had said to Jaebum after they were told that it was officially time for them to begin the transition from JJ Project to GOT7.

Jaebum nodded in agreement. “I’m tired, anyway,” he admitted.

“Me, too. Truce?”

“Truce,” he agreed gratefully, and they shook on it. Jaebum still did his best to pretend that he didn’t notice how soft Jinri’s hand felt in his.

Even if they hadn’t talked it over, things between them probably would have eased, he decided later. More members immediately created a buffer, and put less pressure on them. Training to debut all over again, initially as six and then as seven once Youngju was added, gave them more to think about than how tempting it would be to just let the tension between them snap…

Out of all of them, it was Youngju that Jaebum was the most focused on at first. Since they were the group’s two main vocalists, they trained together a lot, so he was the first member to become close to her. He remembered what it was like to be new to the company, and couldn’t imagine debuting almost right away on top of that, and made an effort to take care of her and help her settle in.

As it turned out, it didn’t go unnoticed.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Youngju,” Jinri had said casually one night, when their paths crossed in the studio.

“Yeah. Vocal training.” And it was Jinri who had asked, so Jaebum added, “And she’s still new. I don’t want her to feel left out, since we’re all close already.” Well, mostly—he didn’t know quite how to treat Yugyeom or Bambam back then, and Jinri and Jackson couldn’t quite seem to figure out if they were friends or not (it all made so much sense when Jaebum walked in on Mari and Jinri, himself, but that was later).

“I don’t know her well yet,” Jinri said. “She seems nice.”

Jaebum had smiled. “She is.”

“Well, you’re not allowed to like her more than me.” Jinri’s tone was flippant, but when she looked at Jaebum her gaze was uncertain.

They had talked things out a lot, they both knew they had to if being in GOT7 together was going to work, but Jaebum knew the ghosts of their past conflicts were still between them. Knew it was going to take a while before they would really get to the point where they could be sure of each other; but he also knew that they would get there, and that meant… a lot to him. 

“Don’t worry,” he said impulsively, “you’ll always be my favorite.”

Jinri blinked at him, then smiled hesitantly, hope dawning in her eyes. “Promise?”

Always had been a terrifying word for him for years, but more and more he was starting to realize that when it came to Park Jinri, ‘always’ wouldn’t be so bad, after all. “Promise.”)

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We should film a V app first,” Jackson announces the next time all seven of them are at the dorm for the night, settled in front of the TV to watch movies.

Mari mumbles a sleepy assent from where she’s sprawled next to him on the couch, her head in his lap. Jinri, on the other hand, sits bolt upright.

“I’ll have to change,” she says. “And brush my hair. And put on makeup.” Like she usually does on hot summer nights, she’s been roaming the dorm in a sports bra and short athletic shorts. Not that Jaebum’s been looking. Much.

The youngest three members protest from their pile of pillows on the floor. “You’ll take all night, noona,” Yugyeom complains, and Jinri nudges his shoulder with her foot for his impertinence.

“We should have a barefaced broadcast,” is Youngju’s contribution, laughing loudly at her own idea.

“The real GOT7,” Jackson agrees, leaning down to hi-five her.

The others agree with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Fifteen minutes later they reassemble on the couch, piling on each other as Yugyeom mans the phone they’re using to broadcast.

They haven’t done a full group broadcast in a few months, given how busy they have all been, so they’re all eager to make up for lost time. They fall into the routine quickly, talking about nothing in particular, coming up with a few acrostic poems, bickering about who looks the best bare-faced (before they all agree in the end that it’s Mari), greeting countries as fan requests pour in. Jaebum still can’t believe how high the viewer count climbs, how many comments they get, how many places their fans are from. It reminds him all over again of how hard they’ve all worked and how lucky they are. Blessed, Mari would say.

His and Jinri’s eyes meet, and she smiles at him. He wonders if she’s thinking the same thing.

“‘Jinri unnie, who do you like’—oh.” Bambam cuts off with a flustered laugh, and Jaebum immediately leans in and reads the comment over his shoulder, his stomach sinking as he takes in the characters.

But Bambam called too much attention to the comment for it to go unaddressed, so Jaebum gives in to the inevitable. “’Who do you like more, Jaebum oppa or Sehun oppa?’” he finishes, raising his eyebrows at Jinri. He’d braced himself for Jinri to be asked about Sehun, of course, but he hadn’t expected any fan to land a direct hit like that.

Jinri’s eyes widen, but she recovers fast, putting on a thoughtful expression and tapping her chin. “I don’t know, oppa, what have you done for me lately?” she teases.

“This question is all wrong,” Jackson cuts in. “I’m her favorite. Right, Jinri? We’re chingus!”

“Youngju is my favorite today,” Jinri says loftily, pulling the girl in question closer. Youngju bursts out laughing as Bambam promptly begins to sing, “ _I don’t need a man_ ,” Yugyeom jumping in to accompany him. The usual banter-filled chaos picks back up from there, all of them playing well off each other like always.

Jaebum laughs along and leaves them to it for the most part, the way he usually does. The conversation quickly shifts as Youngju reads aloud a comment about their recent hair color changes, setting off the eternal debate about which shade suits Mari best. 

In the midst of it all, Jaebum feels Jinri’s hand cover his, her fingers lacing with his the way they have a thousand times. He squeezes her hand and they trade quick, soft smiles before refocusing on the group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In what Jaebum can already foresee becoming a routine, Yugyeom and Bambam join him again for the second episode of We Got Married. Mari is Skyping her family in her room, Jackson and Youngju went to get dinner together, and Jinri has never liked watching anything she’s in with the other members. Jaebum always likes getting extra time with the kids, as he’ll always think of Bambam and Yugyeom no matter how old they get, but he wishes they were watching anything else.

EXO’s leader is the guest panelist today. “Sehun has always wanted to be on We Got Married,” Joonmyun tells the other panelists when Jinri and Sehun’s cut of the episode is underway. He’s all smiles, fondness and pride radiating from him the way it always does when he talks about Sehun. Jaebum knows the feeling; it’s what he would have been like had Yugyeom or Bambam been the GOT7 member featured on the show.

As it stands, he’s relieved that Jackson is the one from GOT7 who was invited to be a guest panelist in a few weeks. Jaebum can’t imagine trying to pretend like Jinri is just another member to him.

It’s another getting to know each other episode. This time Sehun and Jinri meet to shop, greeting each other with shy smiles before falling in step. 

“We need a couple name,” Jinri says as they walk along. “I’ve been thinking about it. I have a few ideas.”

“Like what?” Sehun asks. 

“Well, we’re the same age,” she points out. “We were born in the year of the dog.” Sehun nods, looking attentively at her, and the panelists ooh and aah. 

“She really does seem older than him,” Bambam says, and Yugyeom nods in agreement.

“And we’re both cute,” Jinri says when the clip resumes, flashing a bright smile up at Sehun, who looks as struck by it as Jaebum feels. “So what about ‘puppy love couple’?”

“Oh, I like that!” says one of the panelists as they all make admiring sounds.

“She has sense,” agrees another.

“They’re both cute,” Joonmyun says with a nod.

“There are members in EXO who are already called beagles, right?” one of them asks Joonmyun.

He nods. “Yes, Baekhyun, Chen and Chanyeol are our beagle line.”

“Not Sehun-ssi, though.”

“No, but sometimes Baekhyun says he could be an honorary member.” Joonmyun smiles, as if at some inside joke. “Sehun can be very shy around people he doesn’t know, but he’s louder at home.”

Another of the panelists laughs. “I bet Jinri-ssi’s members wouldn’t say that about her.”

Jaebum thinks wryly about Jackson’s million retellings of the time he walked in on Jinri and Mari shortly before they debuted. He, at least, would disagree.

Onscreen, Sehun laughs suddenly. “I have a puppy!”

“Really?” Jinri asks, smiling, too.

Sehun pulls out his phone and scrolls, then turns it around so she can see. A picture of Sehun holding a small, white dog is projected onscreen.

“Her name is Vivi,” he tells Jinri.

Jinri coos, for all the world as if she’s a dog person. Even Jaebum would have been convinced if he didn’t know firsthand that the only animals she has more than a fleeting interest in is Mari and Youngju’s dog, Coco. 

“You should meet her,” Sehun says.

“I’d like that!” Jinri agrees.

The panelists approve, too. “They’ll be a cute family!” one of them says.

Jaebum scowls. Vivi isn’t even as cute as their Coco.

Jinri and Sehun arrive at a boba tea shop soon enough. Sehun had recommended it, saying it was his favorite place to get boba tea in Seoul. (Joonmyun confirms it in a voiceover, laughing about how often Sehun has wheedled him and the other EXO members into taking him there.) He’d shown more enthusiasm about that than Jaebum has ever seen him show about anything. 

Jinri asks for recommendations once they’re there, compliments Sehun on how helpful his suggestions are until he’s so flustered his ears turn red. Jaebum narrowly watches, noticing every little time she touches Sehun’s arm even before the panelists do. He has a dim memory of hand-holding being one of the big milestones for couples, but it’s too early for that, right?

On the screen Jinri pulls out her wallet, but Sehun is quicker, handing his card to the employee. “I’ll pay for them,” he tells Jinri with a smile.

The segment cuts to another interview with Jinri. She’s laughing, in a flustered way, a wide smile on her face. “So far I thought Sehun-ssi was very cute,” she says. Her voice softens as she adds, “But that was so cool. He was really like an oppa.”

“ _How_?” Jaebum demands, ignoring the maknaes’ outburst of laughter. “I treat her to things all the time! What’s so great about him buying her a drink?”

Jinri and Sehun talk more over their drinks—nothing huge, even though the panelists act like it is, just basic getting to know each other things. 

Bambam starts snickering, and nudges Yugyeom. “Look,” he says, “look at Sehun-ssi every time she drinks.”

Jaebum hadn’t been watching Sehun in a while, but he does now. Sure enough, the next time Jinri takes a sip of her tea Sehun’s eyes drop to her lips, red and full and wrapped around the straw.

Jaebum, admittedly, hadn’t been watching Sehun because he’d been staring at the same sight, but that doesn’t mean he can’t blame Sehun for also noticing.

It gets worse: when they leave the tea shop and are walking along again, Jaebum immediately notices how their hands are much too close together. So do the panelists, all of them excitedly speculating about whether or not this will be when they hold hands for the first time.

“I really wanted to,” Sehun admits in the next talking head segment, with another of those flustered laughs. “I just wasn’t sure what to do. Like, what if it’s too soon?”

Jaebum can all but see the wheels turning in Jinri’s head. She plays it cute for the cameras, of course, but the whole segment ultimately leads up to Jinri slipping her hand into Sehun’s.

Yugyeom and Bambam burst out laughing at the poleaxed look on Sehun’s face. “He looks so nervous,” Yugyeom says gleefully.

“I bet his hand’s sweaty,” Jaebum says with satisfaction.

As if to spite him, the next comment from a fawning panelist is, “Their hands fit just right!”

“Isn’t it too early for hand-holding, anyway?” Jaebum grumbles.

“It would be weird if they weren’t at least holding hands before they get their apartment,” Bambam points out.

Jaebum boggles. “Their own _apartment_?” He’d blocked that part of the show out of his memory, but his mind generates thousands of images as if to make up for lost time—Jinri and Sehun moving in, Jinri and Sehun making dinner together, Jinri and Sehun cuddling on a couch… Jinri and Sehun sharing a bed…

Yugyeom pries the remote out of Jaebum’s hand. “Breathe, hyung,” he advises him.

Bambam pats his arm. “Jinri noona will always be more married to you than anybody.” He pauses. “She and Sehun-ssi look _really_ good together, though.”

Jaebum kicks them both off the couch.  



	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I failed that twice a month update plan already. ;; I'll work harder next month!
> 
> I'm not exactly the world's foremost expert on We Got Married, so if any of y'all have information to volunteer or want to fact check, I would definitely welcome the help. ♥ I hope you enjoy the story!

As if Yugyeom and Bambam had willed it to happen, it’s not long at all before Jinri comes home from filming with a stunned look in her eyes.

“We get our apartment next time,” she tells Jaebum and Youngju.

“You’ll have to film here, right? To pack?” Youngju looks around doubtfully. “Should we clean it again?”

GOT7’s dorm has long been an object of curiosity for fans—they have a shared common room and kitchen, and then two sections segmented behind locked doors, one with two bedrooms and a bathroom for the guys, the other with two bedrooms and a bathroom for the girls. Since the managers moved out the year before, the members have all had to be extra careful to keep their reputations clean, so that they can keep the arrangement intact. Even when they’re torn apart by petty feuds about chicken wings or age lines, none of them have ever wanted to be in separate dorms.

One consequence is that the dorm has frequently featured on their variety programs. It always inspires a flurry of cleaning ahead of time, since when left to their own devices they quickly let the dorm lapse into looking like the center of a storm. 

“You mean should I clean it?” Jaebum asks dryly. Not that he does, often: he’s the one most concerned with cleanliness, but he quickly gets fed up with how no one else puts in any housekeeping effort and leaves it to the cleaning staff.

“You mean should you make us all help you, then fall asleep on the couch instead of doing anything?” Jinri returns.

“That only happened once!”

After a few minutes of discussion they decide to table it until the producers tell Jinri more about what kind of footage they’ll need to get for that episode. Youngju wanders off to take a phone call, but Jinri isn’t done with Jaebum just yet.

“They want me to fix breakfast, too,” Jinri tells Jaebum. Her eyes are filled with apprehension. “They told me I can make whatever I want, so I asked Bambam for ideas and he told me he’ll teach me how to make khao pad tomorrow. Will you go shopping for ingredients with me tonight?”

Jaebum tries to imagine it, knowing all the while that it’s something she’s really doing for Sehun. “Why don’t you go with Bambam?” he points out.

“He’s going to be busy with Yugyeom.” Jinri slips her hand into Jaebum’s and levels him with a wide-eyed, hopeful look. “Please?”

One day, Jaebum tells himself for the thousandth time since the day he met Park Jinri, he’ll stop folding like a house of cards in the face of that look. One day. “All right,” he says for now, defeated.

She smiles. “Thank you!” she says, giving his hand a quick squeeze.

 

 

 

 

Jinri tells the rest of the members about this during a break at dance practice, maintaining her enthusiasm even as everyone looks at her doubtfully.

“Then I can say Bambam taught me how to make it, which promotes the group, and Sehun and I can talk about our international fans and how thankful we are for them,” Jinri finishes.

“As expected,” Yugyeom says in mock awe. “You always know what to say.”

“We all have our strong points,” Jinri says. “Like Bambam’s cooking.”

“Yeah.” Yugyeom beams at his best friend. “How much are you going to make?”

“None,” Bambam says promptly. “Noona’s doing all the cooking. I’m just going to tell her how.”

“You can be the first to try it, Yugyeomie,” Jinri offers with a much too bright smile.

Jaebum doesn’t blame Yugyeom for how his gaze darts to the practice room door. “No, that’s okay,” Yugyeom says quickly.

“Why not? Don’t you trust me?”

“I’m going to kill Yugyeom,” Yugyeom mimics her.

“Oh, that’s just for fun! You know how much I love you.”

“Plus Jaebum hyung wants to eat it all,” Yugyeom adds quickly.

What Jaebum wants is to know how he went from chic, intimidating group leader to group sacrificial lamb, but as Jinri turns her smile on him he reflects that the answer is probably obvious.

 

 

 

 

(The radio show was like any other, another chance for Jinri to do most of the talking with Jaebum making occasional interjections, until Jinri slipped into Satoori and the host caught it.

“Where are you from?” the woman asked once they’ve stopped laughing.

“Jinhae-gu,” Jinri said, smiling the way she always did when she was able to talk about her home.

“Oh, I went there once,” the host commented. “It’s so nice. Do your parents still live there?”

“And my sisters,” Jinri confirmed with a nod.

The host made a quiet, sympathetic noise. “But what do you do when something’s wrong? Your mother is so far away.”

Jinri swallowed, and as Jaebum watched her face cycled through one expression after another. Seconds ticked by, but Jinri didn’t respond. It was like being in a strange dream, seeing Jinri lost for words: she always had something to say. It was one of the best and worst things about her. 

“The managers,” Jaebum cut in quickly. He couldn’t just leave her hanging like that. 

“Yes, we can always talk to our managers,” Jinri added smoothly. “They take good care of us.”

“And your leader, too, right?” the host asked with a smile.

Jinri smiled at Jaebum, for all the world as if they were the best of friends instead of two people still seething over yet another fight they had had in the van on the way over. “Of course,” she lied. “I can always go to JB-ssi.”)

 

 

 

 

Jaebum isn’t worried about the consequences of a late night outing with Jinri, not after all this time. There are always dating rumors and fan speculation about GOT7 members, but nothing ever comes of any of it. Even Mari and Jackson are careful not to do anything during their nights out in Seoul together that they wouldn’t do on camera. And grocery shopping isn’t exactly the stuff scandals are made of, especially when Jaebum and Jinri are the ones who are seen as GOT7’s caretakers. The last time Dispatch tried posting pictures and insinuations when Jinri and Jaebum went for a midnight excursion, Jinri had casually taken a moment during an interview the next day to thank Jaebum for looking out for her and the whole thing had turned into the fans applauding their teamwork and how well Jaebum took care of his members.

When they get to the shop, Jaebum is the one who ends up pushing the cart while Jinri scrolls through the shopping list Bambam had texted her. He’s not sure when that became his default role during shopping trips. Taking the GOT7’s dad role too seriously, he thinks dryly.

Not that they strictly stick to the khao pad ingredients. “Ooh, when was the last time we got these?” Jinri holds a box of honey butter chips up and pouts at him, resting her chin on her fist. “Please?”

“Fine,” Jaebum says with a feigned put-upon sigh. As if he would have said no even if she hadn’t used aegyo.

Even with the added purchases, it doesn’t feel like long at all before they’re ready to make their purchases. Jinri combs through her purse, then frowns at him. “I forgot my card,” she says in what would sound like genuine bewilderment to most people.

Jaebum isn’t most people. He’ll refuse to go along with this game next time, he tells himself. When it’s over something less important. When it isn’t such a nice change to see her so cheerful and unburdened.

When the memory of Jinri cooing about how sometimes Sehun _seems like an oppa_ just because he insisted on treating her to boba tea quits haunting Jaebum. As if Sehun seems like _anyone’s_ oppa after years of cultivating that quintessential maknae image.

Jaebum pulls his credit card out and hands it to her without taking his eyes off the nearby sale display, though he can’t quite suppress his grin when Jinri promptly takes it with a pleased squeal. “Thank you!” she says. “I’ll pay you back.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Ooh, what a cool oppa,” she teases, laying it on as thick as if they were surrounded by cameras and staff.

He knows she’s doing it to tease him, but it still has him rubbing the back of his neck, his gaze darting away from her smile. “Aish, just pay for your food,” he mumbles. She giggles but obeys.

The others have always teased him for how he crumbles in the face of Jinri’s aegyo, but he can’t help it. She’s the cutest person he’s ever met, and what’s worse is she knows how to use it for maximum effect. He sometimes wonders if that was really what did him in—when they met during auditions, Jaebum with his mop of hair and Jinri with her accent, and she’d flashed that bright kitten smile at him for the first time. _Cute_ , had been all he could think, his heart skipping a beat at the sight. 

He really should have known, he thinks now with a sigh.

After they leave the shop, Jaebum impulsively takes Jinri’s hand and leads her in the opposite direction of the dorm. It’s been a while since they’ve made a midnight run on their own like this, and he’s not ready for it to be over yet.

There’s a boba tea place a block away. Jaebum doesn’t drink it as religiously as Sehun apparently does, but when he’s in the mood this is the shop he usually goes to.

“Are you going to treat me again?” Jinri asks in mock awe as he leads her inside. “I must have done something amazing in another life.”

“Maybe this time I want you to treat me,” he returns.

“I don’t have my card, remember?”

He fixes her with a long, knowing look, and she grins. “You can owe me,” he points out.

“And what do you want from me, oppa?” Jinri asks, her voice pitched low. By the time Jaebum recovers enough to fumble for an answer she has already pulled away, calling out a cheerful greeting to the cashier.

They both order quickly and drink them as they walk. Even though this means their hands are full, Jinri makes up for it by pressing close to Jaebum’s side.

“We should do this more,” she says. “It’s nice, just us.”

“We’re too busy,” Jaebum says in resignation, then nudges her. “You’re too popular.”

“It’s a curse.” She sighs dramatically, then takes a long sip of her milk tea, her lips pursed around the straw and her eyes fixed on Jaebum’s. Jaebum gulps.

“You know Sehun was staring at you when you did that to him, right?” he blurts out.

She pulls off and laughs. “That was the point,” she assures him, her smile widening when he frowns.

As soon as they get in Jinri sets the bags down on the counter, then snaps a picture on her phone before she unloads them. 

“Who are you texting?” Jaebum asks idly, expecting the answer to be one of the members, or another of their friends.

“Sehun,” is Jinri’s reply instead, a smile on her face as she types a message on her phone. “I need to make sure he appreciates all the work I’m doing for him.”

“Oh.” Then, making sure to sound very casual, “Do you guys text a lot?”

“Sometimes. We’re both pretty busy.” She looks up at him. “Why?”

“Just wondering,” he lies, and hastily sets about putting the groceries away.

It’s been a long day, and even though Jaebum enjoys the time spent just with Jinri, he can hear his bed calling his name. He tries to resist, but after their conversation about the choreography Jinri and Yugyeom are working on together is interrupted by Jaebum yawning yet again, he knows it’s time to give up.

“I’m going to bed,” Jaebum says ruefully. “Do you need anything else first?”

Jinri shakes her head, then steps forward and kisses his cheek. “Thank you, oppa. I can always count on you.”

It takes a while for Jaebum to stop smiling.

 

 

 

 

(Jinri was still subdued after the radio show; she apologized to their manager for her slip and didn’t say much else, not even to criticize Jaebum.

Fifteen minutes into the van ride back to the dorm, Jaebum had his earbuds in and his favorite Amy Winehouse album playing. He probably wouldn’t have noticed anything from the backseat at all if a sudden movement hadn’t caught his eye.

He glanced back idly and saw Jinri swipe at her eyes as she stared out the window. She was _crying_ , he realized with a shock, taking in the sight of tears streaming down her cheeks. 

Jaebum hated seeing anyone cry—but this was Jinri, which made it even harder to witness.

He had no idea what to do. He had seen Jinri upset before, of course, but only when she was angry with him. He had never seen her sad. And while Jinri had lied well about their closeness on the show, Jaebum had no idea how to comfort her, or even if he should. But he couldn’t just sit there pretending he didn’t know something was wrong, whether she realized he had noticed or not.

Jaebum pulled out his earbuds and twisted around in his seat, then cleared his throat. She looked at him. “You should call your parents when we get back,” he said. “Um. Before we start practice.”

“Omma will be in bed,” she said dully. No smile, no upbeat tone. Normally she would do anything to make sure she seemed just fine. She had to really be upset for her to let him see her this unguarded.

“Tomorrow.” He tried to smile, but couldn’t manage it, either. “I’ll make sure you get time.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

When was the last time Jinri had even seen her family? Jaebum realized that he couldn’t even remember it. He saw his own parents a lot, since they lived nearby, but what about Jinri?

It wasn’t something he could fix, no matter how much he suddenly wanted to. But he couldn’t just leave the conversation there, not with how guilty he felt between her lies on the show earlier and watching Jinri cry. “Um… you know you can talk to me, right? If anything’s wrong.” What the hell did he mean, if? he realized angrily. She was crying, so of course something was wrong. “Or, um. When anything’s wrong.”

Jinri’s mouth twisted in something that wasn’t quite a smile. “That usually doesn’t go well.”

“Yeah. But. You can.”

She sighed quietly. “Is this because of the show earlier? You don’t have to-”

“No. I mean, kind of, but—I really mean it.”

Jaebum reached out, remembering too late that he wouldn’t be able to reach very far given their positions, and had to settle for giving her knee a quick, awkward pat. Was that weird? It was probably weird. He quickly withdrew, but she was faster—she covered his hand with hers and kept it, linking their fingers. He looked up at her in surprise, and she gave him a shaky but real smile. 

“Thank you, oppa,” she said softly.

Jaebum had never been quite so grateful for the van’s tinted windows. He wouldn’t want anyone to catch sight of how much he was blushing.)

 

 

 

 

The next day Jaebum arrives home midway through Bambam and Jinri’s cooking lesson, and settles in to watch. He can’t help imagining a world where he and Jinri are just regular people, where he’s come home to their little apartment and can kiss Jinri hello and talk about their days.

It’s probably funny that Jaebum, who’s able to go so many places and have so many incredible experiences, thinks of quiet domesticity as his impossible dream, but it’s true. It’s the one thing he can’t have; not now, while he and Jinri belong to the public. 

Although Jaebum would do the cooking, probably. It’s not his favorite thing, but he does like the thought of Jinri backhugging him while he cooks and complimenting him on how everything tastes; and then, after dinner, lifting her up onto the counter and being able to taste her…

“Not that much sauce,” Bambam corrects Jinri with a laugh, interrupting Jaebum’s fantasy.

“It’s We Got Married, not We Got Poisoned, noona,” Yugyeom teases from where he’s watching, too.

But it’s not long at all before Jinri is done with the meal, even with the added time spent on bantering and swatting Yugyeom and Jaebum away every time they attempt to steal pineapple pieces. 

Jinri holds the bowl out to Jaebum. “Do you want to try?” she asks hopefully.

“Be careful, what if she’s getting you out of the way so she can be the leader?” Yugyeom warns, dancing away when Jinri pantomimes stabbing him with a cooking chopstick.

“She doesn’t want to be the leader,” Jaebum assures him.

Jinri smiles. “I’d much rather be the shadow king.”

Jaebum survives the bite she feeds him, and so does Yugyeom when it’s his turn. 

“You’ll be great, noona,” Yugyeom tells Jinri, and kisses her cheek. They’re both smiling at he leaves, Jinri swatting at him one last time with the dish towel. Bambam, on the other hand, is notably subdued. 

Jinri eyes Bambam, then sighs dramatically. “I remember when you would kiss me any time I asked. Am I not a pretty enough noona anymore?”

Bambam grimaces dramatically and presses a rushed kiss to her cheek, but Jinri wraps her arm around him before he can dart away and whispers something in his ear. Bambam utters a loud, flustered laugh and wrenches free, but flashes her a quick smile before he hurries after Yugyeom.

“What did you tell him?” Jaebum asks, amused. “I don’t remember the last time I saw him blush.”

Jinri smiles. “Oh, just that Yugyeom likes looking at his ass, too.”

Jaebum smiles back, but more hesitantly. “Do you think we should… encourage them?” It’s something he’s thought about a lot recently, especially now that GOT7 is getting more attention again thanks to We Got Married. “We’re already hiding a lot, with Mari and Jackson.” 

Although he’s never been quite sure what the public reaction would be if those two dating was revealed. Mari and Jackson have both talked before about how they had dated people predebut, and not being Korean earns them a certain amount of leeway with netizens. Mari and Jackson have always clearly been more than just friends, and many fans—the ones who don’t ship them with other members, anyway—had realized that it’s not just fanservice with them long before their adoring exchange in Hong Kong about how even though Jay Chou is now married, Jackson is fine with that because he has Mari. (“How many levels did you just come out on?” Jinri had quizzed him after, too shocked to sound teasing.)

“Nobody wants to see it when it’s two men or two women,” Jinri says with a small smile now. “Look at me and Mari unnie. Everyone thinks it’s just fanservice.”

“Did you ever want it to be more than that?” Jaebum blurts out. That’s something he’s thought a lot about, too; not recently, but over the years. Mari and Jinri stopped fooling around together shortly after debut—as far as he knows, anyway—but they both still bring it up, and are still extremely close friends. 

“I don’t know,” Jinri admits. “She and Jackson both hooked up with other people, but they were always focused on each other, you know.”

Jaebum nods. Ever since Jackson had arrived in Korea and discovered that Mari was one of the only trainees who spoke English, they had been inseparable.

“Besides,” Jinri begins hesitantly. “You and I—”

"Unnie!" Youngju chooses that moment to hurry into the kitchen, her writing notebook in hand. "I have an idea for—” She pauses, looking at both of them. Jaebum isn't sure what's written all over his face, but there must be something, because she apologetically asks, "Am I interrupting?"

Jinri and Jaebum exchange a glance, and then they both shake their heads. Youngju's timing is just as well. Jaebum isn't sure either of them are ready for how Jinri would have ended that sentence.

 

 

 

 

It turns out that the show only wants to get some brief footage of Jinri in her room, so Mari and Youngju are the ones who end up filming with her as she packs the personal items she wants to keep at the apartment while she is on the show. 

Jaebum stays out of the way until the film crew is gone, but makes sure to be on hand to see Jinri off when she leaves later. 

“Here, take this.” Jaebum shrugs out of his long gray and white sweater, his favorite, and hands it to her. “In case—the apartment could be cold. Some of them look cold.”

Jinri pulls it on, her dark eyes shining as she smiles at him. “Thank you.”

Something in him eases a little, seeing her wrapped up in something so unmistakably his. He’s starting to understand why Jinri was so short-tempered when he was dating someone else during JJ Project era. It’s disconcerting, having to step back and let her go to someone else when every part of him rebels against the idea.

“Be good,” Mari teases, framing Jinri’s face in her hands and pressing a kiss against her forehead. “Don’t burn down the kitchen. And don’t snore.”

“I don’t snore,” Jinri insists, like she does every time Mari teases her about it. Then her eyes widen and she looks at Jaebum. “What if I snore?”

Backache aside, that night on the couch with Jinri was the best night’s sleep Jaebum had gotten in weeks. He decides to settle for just saying, “You won’t.” After all, they know there’s nothing they can do about it if she does and the show staff decides to air it.

“I shouldn’t have teased Sungjae so much about his snoring,” she says, resigned. “It’s karma.”

“You’ve seen the netizen comments,” Mari reassures her, rubbing her back. “They’ll love you no matter what you do.”

Jinri brightens. “And at least I’ll be wearing cute pajamas.”

Wearing cute pajamas in a bed with someone else, in a strange apartment instead of home with them where she belongs. Fixing breakfast for someone who’s not Jaebum in the morning. Jaebum bristles. “Shouldn’t you go?” he asks gruffly, pushing back yet another fantasy of getting Jinri out of her contract with the show and finally giving in to that pull between them; finally admitting that she belongs with him and acting on it.

Mari pats his back as they watch Jinri get in the van. “She’ll come back,” Mari reminds him. 

“I know,” Jaebum says quietly.

 

 

 

 

Jaebum isn’t sure when Jinri will get back, and he refuses to wait at the dorm all day, so almost as soon as he wakes up he goes to the studio to work on his latest lyrics. Not that he makes much progress; he likes what he has, but he’s been stuck at the same point for a few weeks, and still isn’t sure what to do with it.

He’s lost track of time when the door to his tiny room opens quietly. He doesn’t look up to see who it is; doesn’t have to when he recognizes the soft footsteps, something in him easing at the familiar sound. 

Jinri settles next to him on the bench, then gently nudges him. “How’s it going?”

“I’m not sure,” he admits. “I’m stuck on this verse.”

She hums thoughtfully, resting her chin on his shoulder as she reads what he’s scribbled down. “If you need me to help, let me know,” she says.

“Thanks.”

He doesn’t say what the song is about, and she doesn’t ask. Neither of them has to. It’s been a long time since either of them wrote a song that wasn’t ultimately about each other.

 

 

 

 

Jackson joins Jaebum, Yugyeom and Bambam when they watch the episode with Jinri and Sehun’s first night in their apartment, so Jaebum braces himself for added noise as well as for what he’s about to watch.

Jackson’s squealing is already going full force even when they’re just settling in for the night, laughing right in Jaebum’s ear as Jinri makes some mild innuendo that flies right over a visibly confused Sehun’s head.

_Pure maknae_ , the caption says.

Jaebum snorts. Not so pure, not the way Sehun looks at Jinri.

Jinri and Sehun are suitably awkward about the prospect of sharing a bed (though Sehun spends much too much time blatantly staring at Jinri after she changes into her undeniably cute pajamas, Jaebum notices with a scowl), and end up arranging extra pillows in the middle of the bed; thoroughly, Jaebum notes with satisfaction. Sehun’s giant noodle body won’t get anywhere near Jinri’s with that setup.

His relief lasts until they get under the covers and Jinri leans up on her elbow, Sehun mirroring her so they can see each other.

“Good night,” Jinri says sweetly, resting her hand on the pillow between them.

Jaebum’s stomach sinks. Surely Sehun won’t—

But even as he watches, Sehun takes her hand. “Good night,” he echoes.

The panelists start squealing. Again.

The scene ends with Jinri and Sehun fast asleep, their hands still linked.

Who even likes watching this crap? Jaebum thinks darkly, ignoring the maknaes’ and Jackson’s excited chattering.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOT7 references during this chapter include: [Jinyoung calling JB "Jaebummie"](https://twitter.com/dvvr_def/status/792313260133326848), ["Oppa, why are you so good looking?"](https://vine.co/v/eYOwJw5vjU7), and [JB's taste in rated music](https://twitter.com/jaebumtweets/status/798231686940999680) ([lyrics](https://ilyricsbuzz.com/2015/09/jooyoung-ft-super-b-wet-lyrics.html)).
> 
> I'm not exactly the world's foremost expert on We Got Married, so if any of y'all have suggestions or want to fact check, I would definitely welcome the help. ♥ I hope you enjoy the story!

Jaebum had known that sooner or later he would be asked to appear on We Got Married. 

No one had expected just how strongly fans would take to Jaebum and Jinri together during their JJ Project days. Even after debuting in GOT7, which attracted fans of all sorts of pairings (Jaebum knows more about this than he ever wanted to, even though he does his best to tune Bambam out when he insists on reading fanfiction aloud during car rides), Jinri and Jaebum have maintained the largest following. After years of walking a careful tightrope where Jaebum has to show enough of his feelings to keep fans interested, but not enough to truly give himself away, it’s inevitable that a show like We Got Married would see a dynamic like theirs as an interesting potential variety storyline.

“They want to play up the protective oppa angle,” one of their managers, Sunghoon, tells him after relaying the news. “You will be her older brother figure, and Sehun-ssi will need to win your approval.”

Jaebum laughs shortly. “Her brother. Right.”

Sunghoon rests his hand on his shoulder. “Jaebum, I know no man wants to watch the woman he cares about with someone else.”

Jaebum’s head snaps up. It’s been a long time since any of their managers had directly addressed him about what’s between him and Jinri, although he’s never deluded himself into thinking it’s because he’s hidden it. He’s never been able to hide his feelings as well as he would like.

“Hyung, we’ve never…”

“I know. We trust you. We wouldn’t let you kids live alone if we didn’t.”

Jaebum keeps staring, waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

Sure enough, Sunghoon continues, “It’s not impossible for you two, you know. After your military service, when fans are ready to see you and Jinri settle down, the company will support you. But this isn’t the time.”

“I know,” Jaebum says. He’s always known. But it’s different hearing the words out loud. He’ll wait, of course he will, but will Jinri? _Should_ Jinri?

 

 

 

 

Jaebum sleeps fitfully in the van on the way to that day's fan sign event. He glances back in the rearview mirror every time he jolts awake, unable to help it, closing his eyes again when he catches sight of Jinri, her face serene as she sleeps against Youngju’s shoulder.

The sleep helps, and the coffees their manager picks up along the way help more; by the time they pile out of the van they are ready to go. 

While they are milling around inside, getting their hair and make-up done and then killing time until the event starts, Jaebum catches sight of Mari and Jinri off on their own, heads bent over Mari’s phone. Some warning bell going off in the back of his mind that he doesn’t understand but has long since learned to recognize, so he goes over to them

“We’re talking about how if it was a real wedding she’d have a bachelorette party, and we’d buy her things like this,” Mari explains cheerfully, turning the phone his way.

Jaebum gapes at the pink and cream lingerie set currently displayed on the screen, and can’t help immediately picturing Jinri in it, her lips curled in one of those feline smiles and her eyes steady on Jaebum’s, waiting for him to find out what’s underneath the satin and lace…

“We should go in,” he chokes out.

Mari groans playfully but puts her phone away and gets up. Jinri holds her hand up to Jaebum and he sighs but helps her to her feet, the touch electric as always. Her hands are so soft, and Jaebum wonders—

“Oppa seems stiff today,” Jinri says, in that sweet tone she saves for variety shows, but pure wickedness in her eyes.

Not for the first time, Jaebum wonders why he couldn’t have just debuted in a boy group instead.

 

 

 

 

Jinri keeps close to Jaebum during the event, casual about it but always nearby. He’s more aware of it than ever, has to fight back the temptation to hold her hand or touch her at all.

Shaking the thought off, he focuses on the fans instead. Their attention is divided, but plenty of them are looking his way, so he smiles at them. “Any questions?”

“I have one,” Jinri says promptly, so he turns back to her. Jinri curls her hand above Jaebum’s on his mic and guides it toward herself, leaning down to speak into it and looking up at him from beneath her lashes. Her eyes are already lit with mischief even before she speaks, so Jaebum is braced for it when she simpers, “Oppa, why are you so good looking?”

The fans paying attention giggle loudly. Jaebum slumps his shoulders dramatically enough that even Jackson would be proud and casts a put-upon expression the fans’ way, thankful that somehow her words don’t make him blush.

“Who’s handsome? Me?” Bambam chimes in. Jaebum digs his mic into Bambam’s side as he passes by, and Bambam twists away easily, putting Jinri between them.

“Of course you’re handsome,” Jinri says without missing a beat, patting his cheek fondly. “My baby son.”

“I’m not a baby,” Bambam objects.

“I can say that, I’m your mom,” Jinri says firmly. 

“Does that mean you’re my _daddy_?” Bambam asks Jaebum with a leer, and Jaebum promptly chases him across the stage.

 

 

 

 

As it turns out, Jaebum ends up having one more conversation about We Got Married before the day is over.

“I need your advice,” Jinri tells him that evening, when they’re back at the dorm.

Jaebum can’t help but smile. He likes knowing that Jinri trusts him so much. “What is it?”

Jinri hesitates. “I want to meet Sehun’s dog before he brings him on the show,” she explains. “I don’t want the episode to be about him hating me. And you know animals usually don’t like me.”

Jaebum does know. It’s something she doesn’t mind in real life, but so far has avoided displaying during variety. “How?” he asks. “You’re not going to his dorm, right?” They can generally sneak anywhere if they really need to, even with so many eyes on them, but Jaebum doesn’t want Jinri to risk this much.

She shakes her head quickly. “No way. We were thinking about meeting at the Han River soon—but not just us. We don’t want it to look like a date.”

Jaebum tries not to smile. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“Would you?” she asks hopefully. 

He nods. Truthfully, he’s glad that she asked him. It’s about time for him to see what Jinri and Sehun are like when they’re away from cameras and prying eyes.

 

 

 

 

Yugyeom is at his parents’ house when the next We Got Married episode airs, and Jinri holes up in her room as always, but the other members all watch it with Jaebum.

“They should have been called the peach couple,” Mari comments shortly after the episode starts.

Youngju laughs loudly. “Princess Peach!” The nickname is an inside joke between the three of them, born during one of their girls’ nights shortly after Youngju’s coming of age day. 

Jaebum eyes them both disapprovingly for that, but otherwise he likes having them there. Mari doesn’t tease Jaebum for his reactions to the show the way Jackson and Bambam do. She laughs sometimes, but she pats him reassuringly, too, which is a nice change.

“He should kiss her!” one panelist says, not for the first time, as Sehun and Jinri stare at each other during a particularly tension-laden moment.

But this is the first time Mari is there to heave a dramatic sigh. “Jinri’s a good kisser.”

Jackson squawks indignantly. “Why do you always have to bring that up?”

“We don’t need to _know_ ,” Youngju says, making a face.

“It deserves to be said,” Mari says with a bright smile.

“Do you think she’s a better kisser than me?” Jackson asks sulkily.

Jaebum automatically moves aside, knowing exactly how this is going to end; sure enough, Mari straddles Jackson’s lap and settles in to kiss him for what seems like days, both of them ignoring Bambam’s reflexive, “ _Ewwwwww_.”

Marison forever, Jaebum thinks dryly. Sometimes he wonders if those two have made it their mission to have enough sex to make up for how they’re the only GOT7 pair not stuck in the mutual pining stage. 

Jaebum can’t really blame Jackson for how he still hasn’t come to terms with seeing Jinri and Mari together back then, though. Jaebum still doesn’t know how to feel about it, himself.

 

 

 

 

(Jaebum was just looking for a quiet room to practice in, one where he could scribble down the lyrics that wouldn’t quite leave his head.

The room he chose was—occupied.

The first thing he heard was Jinri’s voice. He would recognize her anywhere, even though he had never heard her moan like that before. The sound didn’t entirely process until she came into view. With Mari.

It was one thing to hear the other trainees gossiping about how Jinri and Mari had become a lot more than just friends during the recent weeks. Seeing it for himself was something else entirely: both of them wrapped around each other against the far wall, one of Mari’s legs between both of Jinri’s, and kissing as if their lives depended on it. Jaebum could even see them reflected in the mirror behind Jinri, how Mari’s hands were on Jinri’s ass.

Jinri ground down against Mari’s thigh even as Jaebum watched, breaking away from the kiss and whimpering loudly. Her lips were even redder than usual, even fuller. Jaebum had imagined her like this before—usually not in a practice room, though he might not ever keep his mind pure in a practice room again—

Jinri’s eyes opened, hazy and dark, and drifted until they locked with Jaebum’s. They just stared at each other for a second, then two, and then Jinri gasped, “ _Jaebummie_.”

“No, still Mari,” Mari teased, something thick and heavy in her voice that Jaebum has never heard before as she lifted her head. Something he wasn’t ever supposed to hear.

Jaebum abruptly realized what he was doing and he looked away, shame rushing through him. Jinri and Mari were his—his friends, were real people, not characters in a drama to be watched. 

“I’m sorry,” he choked out, bowing deeply. He heard Mari yelp but didn’t dare look up again. “I’ll just—sorry-” He hastily backed out of the room, accidentally slamming the door shut behind him.)

 

 

 

 

Mari and Youngju are both spending the day with other friends, and Yugyeom and Bambam decide to stay home, so Jackson and Jaebum are the only members who accompany Jinri to the Han River.

Jaebum agrees to drive them there when Jinri asks, and she promptly claims the front passenger seat, leaving Jackson to complain in the back. Jaebum can’t help stealing glances at Jinri from time to time, wishing that they were going for a real date, just the two of them; off to spend the evening doing things as simple and ordinary as holding hands, or eating convenience store ramen on a picnic blanket.

But he doesn’t even get a chance to pretend; when they get there Sehun is already waiting for them with two of his members, Joonmyun and Chanyeol.

Sehun is even taller in person than Jaebum remembered. Jaebum is pretty sure his shoulders are broader than Sehun’s, but he’s glad nobody suggests that they measure them to find out.

“Hello, Jaebum-ssi,” Sehun says shyly as he bows.

Jaebum can’t help feeling bad when he sees the apprehension in Sehun’s eyes. Granted, Sehun needs to stop doing things like holding Jinri’s hand and calling her his wife, but… “You can call me hyung,” Jaebum says impulsively.

Sehun brightens. “Thank you, hyung.”

The others have exchanged greetings, too. Jaebum says hello to Joonmyun and Chanyeol, keeping an eye on Jinri, who is warily staring at Vivi. 

“He’s really nice,” Sehun assures Jinri. “You can say hi.”

“He won’t like me,” Jinri warns him. “Animals really don’t.”

“Just try,” Sehun says.

Jinri sighs heavily but takes a step forward. Vivi immediately backs away, hiding behind Sehun’s legs. “See?” Jinri says in exasperation as the others laugh.

“You’ll be Jinri’s friend, won’t you?” Jackson coos to Vivi, crossing over and kneeling down in front of him. Vivi plants his front paws on Jackson’s thighs, leaning in shamelessly as Jackson pets him and Sehun kneels down to join in.

“He likes Jackson,” Jinri complains to Jaebum.

“He’s met Jackson,” Jaebum reminds her. “You’ll be fine.”

“He’s sensitive,” Sehun adds, smiling up at Jinri. “He can tell you’re nervous. You should get down on his level, too, and hold out your hand. Let him come to you.”

“Talk to him like you talk to your dog, Jinri-ssi,” Joonmyun adds encouragingly.

“Scold him for ruining my shoes?” she asks wryly, but she tentatively walks over to Sehun and crouches down in front of Vivi. “I shouldn’t look at his eyes, right? Dogs don’t like that, right? I looked it up.”

“Try it,” Jackson says with a nod. 

Jinri holds out her hand, keeping her eyes averted. “Hi, Vivi,” she says gently. Vivi sniffs at her, then nudges at her hand.

“You can pet him now,” Sehun assures her. 

Jinri obeys, hesitantly but then with more confidence as Vivi leans into the caress instead of away. Jaebum’s heart clutches as he sees Jinri’s smile.

“Do you still want to order food?” Chanyeol asks Sehun abruptly.

“From where?” Jackson asks immediately.

“We could go buy ramen,” Joonmyun suggests.

Jackson shakes his head fervently, standing back up and taking Joonmyun’s hand. “That’s not good for you, hyung! Too much sodium! PD-nim says—“ 

Jaebum can eat nearly anything, and he knows Jackson will remember not to suggest western food, so he tunes the others out in favor of narrowly watching Sehun and Jinri. Thankfully it only takes a few seconds before Jinri looks up at him and beckons.

“Come meet Vivi,” she says.

Jaebum obeys immediately. Vivi seems to have decided to take all this attention as his due, taking no more than a moment to allow Jaebum to pet him, too. 

“He likes you more,” Jinri says, pouting at him.

“I’m not nervous,” Jaebum reminds her, smiling as she nudges his side, then leans against him. He can smell traces of her familiar perfume, floral and light.

“Do you like any animals, Jinri?” Sehun asks.

Jinri grins. “I like chameleons.”

“Sehun-ah, what do you want to eat?” Chanyeol asks suddenly.

Sehun looks up at him. “You can pick, you know what I want.”

A startled smile flashes across Chanyeol’s face. “You trust me,” he comments.

“Yeah.”

Jaebum isn’t sure what’s going on there, but he’s not interested; he would rather think about how Jinri feels against his side, warm and perfect and where they both belong.

 

 

 

 

Chanyeol and Jackson return with the food soon enough, and a picnic blanket for good measure, and the six of them settle in to eat.

“You’re going to be on the show soon, right?” Jackson asks Jaebum.

Jaebum nods reluctantly. “Mari and I are.”

“You should be a panelist,” Joonmyun says. “It’s fun.”

Jackson laughs. “Think about what they’d ask you, hyung!”

“'Jaebum-ssi, you’ve been on a dating show-'” Jinri begins in an eerily accurate imitation of Park Mi Sun.

Jaebum interrupts with a horrified yelp. “They wouldn’t really talk about that, right?” 

“They’d rather talk about Sehun and Jinri,” Joonmyun assures him.

Jackson nods. “They were telling me they really like watching your parts,” he adds. “You guys are their favorite.”

“Did they really say that?” Sehun asks, sounding surprised.

“Well, not exactly, but I know they meant it,” Jackson insists.

Jaebum tries not to be bothered as he watches Jinri and Sehun exchange smiles.

The other four seem set to run around with Vivi for a while after they eat, but Jinri stays right where she is, by Jaebum’s side. “Why does this really bother you so much?” Jaebum can’t resist asking. “Vivi not liking you, I mean.”

Jinri stares down at the picnic blanket, tracing her fingertip over it in small circles. “Animals have good instincts about people, right?” she asks at last. “But they don’t like me. And if they don’t like me, that looks bad, and…” She sighs, her voice lowering as she confesses, “I don’t want people to think I’m not loveable.”

“Nobody could think that,” Jaebum says immediately, even though after years in the industry both of them know better. 

Jinri smiles anyway. “Thank you, oppa,” she says quietly, placing her hand on his. He turns his palm upright and links their fingers, and she sighs and rests her head on his shoulder. 

“You don’t want to play with the others?” he murmurs.

She makes a dissenting noise. “I’d rather be right here.”

 

 

 

 

It’s not much longer before they all part ways.

“We’ll see you for the wedding episode, right?” Joonmyun says with a smile. Sehun laughs quietly, ducking his head.

The wedding. Right. For some reason Jaebum’s eyes go to Chanyeol. At least his face still reflects the way Jaebum feels about all of this.

“Yeah.” Jaebum puts on a smile, too. “See you then.”

“I’ll pick the music!” Jackson says as soon as they’re settled in, and scrolls through Jaebum’s phone. Jaebum lets him; almost any time he gives Jackson a ride, Jackson uses the chance to listen to music of Jaebum’s that he hasn’t heard before. 

Jackson ends up picking a playlist that Jaebum just made, and Jaebum sings along absently, tapping the steering wheel. “ _Keep going, hold tight and before I know it; your red lips make me_ -” His eyes meet Jinri’s in the rearview mirror, and he breaks off mid-syllable and clears his throat, looking away again as Jinri giggles. 

Jackson, meanwhile, pretends to squeal. “I dare you to sing that on V app, hyung,” he says. “Oh! What if you have a solo broadcast that’s just you singing all these songs?”

Jaebum snorts. “I can’t do that.”

“The fans would love it,” Jinri says, leaning forward.

“Shouldn’t you always do everything you can to make our fans happy?” Jackson chimes in.

Jaebum just shakes his head.

As they head into their dorm, Jackson is a few steps ahead of them, already talking about how he’s going to spend the rest of his night.

“Mari wants to watch Pacific Rim again, so we’re going to do that,” he’s saying as he opens the door, “And then we’re— _oh my god_!”

Jaebum and Jinri trade a glance, then follow him into the room just in time to see Yugyeom scooting to the left side of the couch, while Bambam is still half-lying on the right side, yanking his sweatpants back up. 

“I didn’t hear you, hyung!” Yugyeom stammers.

He should have known something was up as soon as the maknaes turned down the chance for free food, Jaebum thinks. If he hadn’t been so distracted thinking about Jinri and Sehun…

“We all sit on that couch!” Jackson goes on. Yugyeom makes a high, mortified sound that Jaebum is sure they will all tease him about later and buries his bright red face against Bambam’s shoulder as soon as Bambam is within reach.

“Like you and Mari noona don’t do worse,” Bambam retorts. He’s stroking Yugyeom’s hair, his other arm protectively circled around Yugyeom’s shoulders.

He’s grown up to be a good man, Jaebum thinks, and feels old suddenly. 

He toes out of his shoes and pads quietly into the kitchen, not surprised at all when Jinri follows.

“We all knew this would happen,” she reminds him softly. 

Jaebum nods. “I know. They’ll be careful.” To an extent, anyway; their feelings have been obvious for a long time, but fans have accepted it as a close friendship. Jinri had been right when she had said that people wouldn’t want to see more.

Jinri crosses to his side, touches his arm. “The kids are all grown up,” she says lightly.

“I don’t know if that’s what makes them grown up,” Jaebum returns. “But… yeah.” He can still picture them squabbling constantly back in trainee days, Yugyeom complaining about Bambam to Jaebum or Bambam casting scathing looks Yugyeom’s way before being swept off by adoring hyungs or noonas.

And now here they are. Here they all are, he thinks, his eyes locking with Jinri’s.

Her hand slips down his forearm, twines with his. A small smile curves her lips. “Thank you for coming with me today,” she says. “You’re a good leader.”

Jaebum swallows. “I should’ve done it before now,” he says roughly. “Talked to Sehun and everything.”

She squeezes his hand. “Don’t worry,” she says. “About any of it.”

Jaebum sighs and impulsively leans down, resting his forehead on her shoulder. She huffs a quiet laugh but strokes her free hand through his hair, and he closes his eyes. “I’m a leader,” he mumbles. “It’s my job to worry.” 

“I know. That’s one of my reasons why…” 

“Why what?” he asks. 

She turns her head just enough to whisper in his ear, “Why you’re my favorite, too.”

Jaebum wants to kiss Jinri pretty much every minute of the day, but maybe never moreso than he does right now; in their dark kitchen, Jinri sweet and warm and fitting just right in his arms. 

“ _This isn’t the time,_ ” he remembers Sunghoon saying, and fights the desire down yet again; settles for wrapping his arms around Jinri and holding her tight until the noise in the living room gets loud enough that they know they need to go referee.

 

 

 

 

(Logically Jaebum knew that the hours of dance practice he had just finished, pushing himself until he could barely think about anything meant he had to be hungry, but he still ended up just picking at his cafeteria meal. All he could think about was seeing Jinri with someone else; how he had watched them like some creep; how Jinri would probably never forgive him…

He groaned and dropped his head onto the table, pressing his face into the crook of his arm. They were all supposed to be training together, but after this he wasn’t sure how he could even look Jinri or Mari in the eye again.

He only got a few seconds to wallow before he felt someone tap his shoulder. He sighed heavily and looked up, then did a double-take when he saw that it was Mari who was standing over him.

“Can we talk?” Mari asked. She was swimming in an oversized hoodie Jaebum vaguely remembered Jackson wearing the other week, her face nearly bare of makeup. She looked like friendly, comfortable to be around Mari Tuan again; no sign of the side of her Jaebum had glimpsed, the one Jinri must know so well…

Jaebum looked blankly at her. “You want to talk to me?”

As if in response, Mari sat down next to him. “I forgot to lock the door,” she said, apropos of nothing.

“I’m really sorry,” Jaebum blurted out. “I didn’t—I shouldn’t have—“ He couldn’t get his mouth around the rest of it; felt his face heat at just the _thought_ of saying what he had seen.

“I forgive you,” Mari said. Jaebum’s eyes darted up just in time to see her grin, sudden and bright. “Jinri will, too, if you ask nicely.”

Jaebum wasn’t sure how he would face Jinri, for a lot of reasons. He had had time to think about what Mari had said earlier, how she hadn’t sounded surprised to hear Jaebum’s name coming from Jinri’s lips at all.

“Are you guys together, or anything?” he asked all at once.

Mari shook her head. “We’re just friends.”

Jaebum had been pretty sure that that would be her answer, but actually hearing it made him feel better. “What about Jackson?”

“We’re friends, too,” Mari said. Jaebum snorted before he can stop himself, and Mari’s lips turned upward. “He’s not ready for anything else. It’s a long story.”

A long story Jaebum never did hear, but Mari and Jackson did get together shortly afterwards; and not long after that, Mari and Jackson were officially placed in GOT7.

As for Jinri, she did accept his apology when Jaebum finally offered it, stumbling over the words. “I’ll forgive you,” she said, a smile he couldn’t quite read crossing her face. “But I think you owe me.”

“Owe you what?” he asked warily.

Her smile widened. “We’ll see.”)

 

 

 

 

Jaebum is ready for his We Got Married appearance, or so he thinks. 

Maybe it would have even been true if someone had thought to tell him ahead of time that he and Mari were there to watch Jinri try on wedding dresses.

Protective and caring, Jaebum reminds himself as he and Mari wait on a settee in the dress shop, hyperaware of the cameras as he tries not to stare at the changing area. Just her leader. That’s all. 

The first dress Jinri steps out wearing is one of those princess in a fairytale style dresses—huge gauzy skirts and a bodice covered in lace and beads and designs. Jaebum makes approving noises along with Mari and doesn’t mention that the dress makes him think of a cupcake. Jinri doesn’t like it, either—that’s definitely her strictly-for-show smile—but he figures she still wouldn’t appreciate hearing him criticize it.

The second dress, though…

Jaebum sits up straighter in his chair as soon as she comes out, his eyes widening, then quickly sits back and hopes the show doesn’t air a shot of his initial reaction. He suspects it wouldn’t leave any room for doubt about what his real feelings for Jinri are.

The dress is floor length but simpler than the first one, a sleeveless column of white with what Jaebum dimly remembers one of his cousins describing as an empire waist. Sheer, intricately beaded lace serves as a high scoop neckline. Jaebum is sure Jinri chose it for herself, not like the first one, which must have been selected by a staff member.

"What do you think?" Jinri asks. She's still trying not to give her opinions away, but he can hear the tamped down approval in her voice, can see the genuine smile crinkling her eyes. 

He doesn’t want her wearing this dress for the show, Jaebum realizes. He wants it to be the dress she wears for a real wedding, when she’s walking down the aisle toward _him_.

“You look really pretty,” Mari tells her. She glances quickly at Jaebum before adding, “Do you think the dress is too simple, though?”

“Yeah,” Jaebum says with relief. He never would have been able to come up with something to criticize. “Too simple.”

“That’s what I was thinking, too,” Jinri agrees. Her tone is so nonchalant that Jaebum is sure the audience will believe it, too.

He wonders suddenly if Sehun has learned how to tell when Jinri is putting on a show for the camera yet, and how much of her real self Jinri has let him see.

 

 

 

 

When the episode where Jinri ‘meets’ Vivi airs, it looks like a case of love at first sight, Vivi comfortably playing with Jinri and then resting on her lap while Jinri and Sehun talk.

“They look like a family,” one of the panelists says fondly, and the others all pile on their agreement.

Jaebum looks at the closed door to the girls’ side, wonders what Jinri is doing right then, and aches.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The second wedding dress](http://www.vbridal.com/Empire-Scoop-Neck-Sweep-Train-Chiffon-Wedding-Dress-With-Lace-Beading-g5093152?color=ivory)


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to C, E & S for the second looks and encouragement and assistance, and to K for all things. ♥
> 
> And in case you need a more concrete mental image of Jinri's debut era haircut, [K drew it](http://imgur.com/a/JUcTR).

Jinri and Sehun are on another boba tea date in this episode of We Got Married. 

Viewers are going to get bored if Sehun is this unoriginal, Jaebum thinks with a snort.

“I’ll wait for the drinks, if you want to pick a table for us,” Sehun tells Jinri after they order.

Jinri smiles up at him. She’s dressed for a date, refreshing and pretty in a blue striped sundress. Jaebum still remembers when she bought it, back in JJ Project days—she had spent the whole shopping trip talking about wanting to pick out something Wonpil would like her in, pretending she didn’t notice Jaebum seething. “I’ll wait with you. It’ll probably only take a minute.”

“It’s okay,” Sehun says quickly. Too quickly. The relief Jaebum had felt knowing Jinri would have to let go of Sehun’s hand (why do they hold hands so much, anyway???) vanishes. “Just, um, pick where you want us to sit, okay?”

“He seems nervous,” one of the panelists observes.

“Is it a surprise event?” asks another.

Jaebum has a bad feeling about this; one that’s proven right in seconds, as Sehun fishes a ring out of his pocket as soon as Jinri walks away. The panelists gasp as the camera zooms in on it.

Yugyeom gasps, too. Jaebum swats him without looking. “Proposals are the best!” Yugyeom insists, not sounding apologetic at all.

Jinri chooses her seat and pulls out her phone while she waits. “He’s being strange,” she remarks for the benefit of the camera, her voice fond. 

Sehun, meanwhile, thanks the café employee for their teas and unwraps two straws. As soon as he puts Jinri’s through the plastic lid of her cup, he drops the ring over it, then covers it with his finger as he carries the drinks to the table.

“He’s so smart!” gushes one of the panelists.

“Not that smart,” Jaebum grumbles. “This isn’t even a very good proposal. Jinri’s not the one who likes boba tea so much, he is.”

“This was where they had their first date,” Yugyeom debates. “It’s romantic. Don’t you think so, Bambam?”

“I like Sehun’s shirt,” is Bambam’s only contribution, his expression thoughtful. “Do you think he’d remember where he got it, if Jinri noona asked him for me?”

The stare Yugyeom gives Bambam looks every bit as disbelieving as Jaebum feels.

Jinri notices as soon as Sehun sets the cup down in front of her, jolting in her seat. “What’s that?” she asks. 

“Do you like it?” Sehun asks hopefully.

“She should,” Yugyeom says, and laughs when Jaebum makes an indecipherable noise. “What? It’s really pretty—” The remark ends on a startled gasp.

Jaebum glances sideways, just enough to register the presence of Bambam’s hand on Yugyeom’s lap. “What did we say about groping while you’re next to other people?” he asks wearily, not for the first time. Not even for the first time that day. But he would rather scold those two every hour than think about how Jinri is admiring her ring onscreen and smiling her real smile at Sehun.

 

 

 

 

Yugyeom and Bambam vanish almost as soon as the episode ends—Jaebum tries not to think about what a hurry they were in—and Jinri herself shows up a few minutes later. 

“How was it?” she asks.

Jaebum glances at her hand. No ring, he notices with relief. He’s been wondering how he could have missed it. “You didn’t tell me Sehun-ssi, um, proposed,” Jaebum says.

Jinri blinks. “You did watch me try on wedding dresses, remember, oppa?”

Jaebum swallows, thinking back to that afternoon. Trying not to think about the dreams he’s had since then, about helping Jinri out of the wedding dress she didn't pick, and then… “Yeah, but. Still.”

“I kind of knew it was happening, since we picked the ring out together,” Jinri explains. “He looked at them and sent me pictures, and I told him which one I liked best.”

She had helped Sehun pick out a ring, and Sehun had proposed, and Jaebum hadn’t even guessed about any of it? He had thought he was paying enough attention. How much else has he missed?

 

 

 

 

Comeback preparations and KCON are both around the corner, making GOT7 busier than ever. 

They really don’t have time for Mari and Jinri to be lingering on a break, Jaebum thinks as he tracks them down. His irritation vanishes as soon as he’s close enough to hear their conversation.

“-trying to get in time while we still can,” Mari is saying as Jaebum rounds the corner. He can see her press her tongue against the inside of her cheek, a gesture he knows all too well.

He rolls his eyes, though his irritation at yet another reminder of all the sex everyone but him is having vanishes as he hears Jinri’s wistful, “I miss giving head.”

Mari’s eyes flit to Jaebum’s, and she grins. “Wrecking boys is fun.”

“Yeah,” Jinri agrees with a small sigh. 

Jaebum hastily turns back around and flees, forgetting all about what he went to tell them, though luckily for him the girls return to practice right after he does.

He needs to stop letting things like that happen, because it effectively ruins him for the next few hours, fantasies of Jinri on her knees popping into his head every minute.

“-honeymoon?” he hears Jackson ask during their next break. The word snaps Jaebum right out of an extensive fantasy about leaning back against the mirror as Jinri sucks him off, his hands scrabbling against the smooth surface and—

“LA,” Jinri says. “Since we’ll already be there for KCON. Sehun is going to fly out after. I’ll just stay late.”

Jaebum tries to imagine getting on a plane back to Seoul, knowing Jinri will be staying behind, all alone in America with Sehun for days. Tries not to imagine eloping with Jinri into the night. “Sounds great,” he says, baring his teeth in more of a grimace than a smile.

“Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do, noona,” Yugyeom teases from where he and Bambam are sprawled on the floor, Yugyeom’s head pillowed on Bambam’s stomach.

“What will you do?” Jaebum asks. He dimly realizes his hands are balled into fists, but he can’t seem to uncurl them. Honeymoon episodes mean hotel room scenes. He’s already had to watch Jinri and Sehun share a bed once. What if he has to again?

“You should go to the beach,” Mari says.

The beach. Sehun seeing Jinri in a _swimsuit_. “Let’s get back to practice,” Jaebum says hurriedly, scrambling to his feet.

 

 

 

 

But since Jaebum is in GOT7, a group whose core values include never letting anything go, it’s far from the last he hears about Jinri and Sehun.

“I was talking to Sehun,” Jackson tells him after Jaebum climbs into the top bunk.

Trapped by his own unwillingness to part from his bed on the rare occasions he actually gets to lie down in it, Jaebum sighs heavily. “And?”

“He really likes Jinri. A lot. He’s always talking about how much he likes being with her for the show.” Jackson pauses. “ _Having her as his wife._ ”

Jaebum thinks about that for a moment, then leans over the side of their bunk bed and asks, “Mari told you to tell me that, didn’t she?”

“Why won’t you just confess to Jinri?!” Jackson demands.

Jaebum closes his eyes and counts backwards from ten, praying for patience. “This is for a show, Jackson,” he reminds him. “She signed a contract. It’s not real.”

Jackson scrambles out of the bottom bunk bed, then boosts himself on the side of it so that he can see Jaebum, their faces close together. “You don’t think it still feels weird? Even if it’s just pretend, acting like you’re married to someone… it’s not the same thing as fan service. And if you’re not telling her how you feel, it’s weird for her.”

“Did she say something to you?” Jaebum asks. Mari is the person Jinri tells everything to, but he knows Jinri and Jackson have particularly deep talks sometimes. She _could_ have said something. What if something is wrong, and Jaebum didn’t know?

“She doesn’t have to. It has to be weird for you guys.”

“We’re fine,” Jaebum says shortly.

Jackson rests his hand on Jaebum’s arm. “Denial’s not healthy, hyung,” he says gently.

Jaebum stares at him. “And how many years did it take you to stop pretending like you and Mari were just friends?”

“It wouldn’t have taken as long if she was pretending to marry someone else!” Jackson retorts.

Jaebum sighs, then frowns. “Are you sure she hasn’t said anything to you guys?”

Jackson shakes his head. “ _You_ should talk to her, hyung.”

Of course that’s Jackson’s suggestion. Jackson talks to everyone about everything. But Jaebum doesn’t even know what there is to say. Jinri knows how he feels, and she knows what she signed up for. Besides that, she’s clearer on the difference between her professional persona and her real life than almost any other idol Jaebum has ever met. She seems to have handled everything else about the show well. Would a pretend ceremony be any different?

 

 

 

 

Even if Jaebum wanted to talk to Jinri about it, he can never steal time with her anymore. She’s always filming for dramas or We Got Married, and JYPE is capitalizing on the show by accepting CF offers and magazine features for her left and right. Meanwhile, Jaebum is working harder than ever on the comeback, especially since this time one of the songs he’s had a part in writing is in the running to be their promoted song.

Days after his conversation with Jackson, Jaebum is drawn out of one of his rare snatches of sleep slowly, realizing a little at a time what it is that’s woken him up. The first thing that processes is the rhythmic knocking sounds against the wall. The second thing is Yugyeom’s voice, though the strained tone is one Jaebum has never heard from him before.

“ _Yes_ Bambam—you’re so big—”

Jaebum yelps and startles out of bed as he abruptly realizes what’s happening, making a beeline for the door. It’s one thing to know that two more members of his group are together, but he does not need to listen to them, too.

This time Youngju is the one he finds lingering in the common room.

“Couldn’t sleep?” she asks absently, not looking up from her laptop. She must be absorbed in whatever the latest game she and Bambam are hooked on is. 

Jaebum grimaces as the thought of Bambam brings back all too vivid memories of just what sent him running in the first place. “The kids woke me up,” he grumbles.

“The kids—oh.” She does look up at that, her mouth round, and then she laughs. “Make them move your bed to the other wall.”

“Tomorrow,” Jaebum agrees fervently. He doesn’t need to overhear that ever again.

Youngju shakes her head. “I’m glad I don’t want to be with one of you guys. Shitting where you live just seems risky.”

“Don’t say things like that,” Jaebum says with a grimace.

She grins at him. “Poor, delicate oppa.”

 

 

 

 

He doesn’t sleep much the next night, either, but for a different reason—it’s time for all of them to film Jinri and Sehun’s wedding episode.

It had taken some doing, but the show had managed to work around enough of EXO and GOT7’s schedules that almost every single member of both groups would be there. Yixing and Jackson are in China, but otherwise everyone will be in attendance. To watch Jinri pretend to marry someone who isn’t Jaebum.

Jaebum is the first one ready. The others join him one (or two, in Yugyeom and Bambam’s case) at a time.

“Your boobs look amazing in that dress,” Mari tells Youngju, sitting up straighter on the sofa as Youngju enters the room.

“I know, right?” Youngju says happily, doing a quick twirl in her floral print dress. Jaebum very carefully Does Not Look, instead catching sight of Yugyeom elbowing an obviously staring Bambam.

Jinri is the last one to join them. 

“You haven’t slept?” Jaebum asks quietly as he goes to her side. He can see faint shadows under her eyes and recognizes the slump of her shoulders.

Jinri shakes her head. “I’ll be fine,” she says, then puts on a smile. “I always am.”

Jaebum makes sure they stop for coffee on the way.

Since Jinri and Sehun dubbed themselves the puppy love couple, the staff had decided that Coco and Vivi are both essential guests for the wedding. Mari and Youngju spend a while trying to convince Coco to wear a bow, but end up settling for having her wear the pretty new collar Youngju bought her. 

It gets Mari and Youngju a spot in the front row, since they’re in charge of making Coco behave. Jaebum can see them talking with Joonmyun, who is the one taking care of Vivi.

Jaebum can see everything. After all, he’s the one who’s been tasked with walking Jinri down the aisle.

It feels like some sort of sick joke as Jinri glides toward him, more beautiful than ever in the full-skirted dress she had chosen, her smile bright under her sheer veil. Even if it’s pretend, on some level it feels all too real, like too many other things in their industry. 

But the cameras are on, so Jaebum keeps smiling as Jinri slips her hand into the crook of his arm, even as he feel her fingers tremble and wonders if any of the panelists will notice; keeps smiling as he walks her toward Sehun, as he watches them exchange vows they wrote themselves. As they look hesitantly at each other at the end of the ceremony.

“Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!” chant a number of the EXO members, Jongin trailing off into laughter halfway through. Chanyeol’s smile looks strained but he’s keeping up with Jongdae and Baekhyun’s cheers. The beagles, Jaebum dimly remembers Joonmyun calling them, and is momentarily grateful that he doesn’t have to live up to that kind of reputation right now. 

Sehun, blushing and laughing awkwardly, finally ducks in and presses a kiss to Jinri’s upturned cheek, so quickly Jaebum is sure it will take all three of the inevitable multi-angle, slowed-down replays for viewers to be able to see it properly. Maybe even a fourth. Jinri ducks away, and she’s giggling, too, her real laugh. She’s hiding it with the back of her hand, but Jaebum can see her sparkling eyes, framed by her laugh lines.

He can only imagine what the panelists will say about this, is all he can think. Jaebum doesn’t want to sit through it. He doesn’t want to sit through any of this, when it airs or right now. He hopes the cameras aren’t on him, because he’s not smiling anymore.

 

 

 

 

Jaebum had ducked out of dinner with friends and talked Mari and Jackson into taking Youngju out instead of him. GOT7’s debut was right around the corner, and they had all barely had any time to breathe in weeks. Tonight was their first free night in a long time, and he was planning to spend his in the dorm alone, blissfully becoming reacquainted with what is was like to have a space to himself.

A plan that went perfectly for the first half hour, until the door slammed open and Jinri strode in.

At least, he assumed it was Jinri. She had the faux fur lined hood of her coat pulled almost completely over her face, her hand clutching the front of it closed.

Jaebum blinked at her from his spot on the couch, then set his dinner aside and vaulted up. He needed a closer look at this. “What happened?” he asked, and stopped dead in his tracks as the obvious answer occurred to him. “Wait. You were with the coordi noonas, right?” They were getting their debut hairstyles a few at a time. Jaebum hadn’t had his turn yet, but Mari and Jackson had already gone through it, and Jinri’s appointment had been today.

“You can’t look,” Jinri mumbled from the depths of her hood. “No one can look at me. I’m promoting with a bag over my head.”

“Your fanboys would riot,” Jaebum said dryly, pulling at it. She yelped in protest and clutched tighter. “I can’t even imagine what your fangirls would do.”

“I know where they can start,” Jinri said darkly.

Jaebum laughed. “Come on. It can’t be that bad.”

“ _Fine_.” Jinri let her hood drop.

Jaebum blinked at the sight, then blinked again. During their JJ Project days Jinri had almost always had her hair in short, spiky pigtails, to suit her cute, fun maknae image. The coordi noona in charge of her hair today had cut the very right side to just beneath her earlobe again, and then cut her hair in a blunt diagonal slash the whole way to the left side of her hair, which was still at the collarbone length Jinri had grown it out to while they were training for GOT7. On top of that, her fringe had been cut in an angle toward the center of her forehead, where it was shaped into a Spock style point. 

“They said it would be avant-garde,” Jinri said miserably.

Jaebum blinked. “Uh. It’s. Interesting.”

“It’s _awful_.” She groaned and yanked her hood back over her face. “Debut without me.”

“We can’t debut without you,” Jaebum debated, tugging at the hood again.

She kept it down valiantly. “You can,” she argued. “I don’t even have a real part in the group.”

“What do you mean?”

Jinri sighed. “Nothing-”

“We said we were going to talk about things,” Jaebum interrupted her, and nudged her side when she sighed again. “What do you mean?”

She lifted her head, just enough that he can see her peering out at him from beneath the faux-fur, her dark eyes wary. “Think about it,” she said, in the careful tone that signals to Jaebum that whatever it is she was about to say, she had been thinking about for a long time. “You and Youngju are the lead singers. Yugyeom is the lead dancer. Jackson, Bambam, and Mari unnie are the rappers. I’m just… here. I don’t really do anything.”

“You do everything,” he said immediately. “We need someone like that.” She shrugged, looking down, and without thinking he touched her cheek. Her face shot back up immediately, her wide eyes locking with his. 

Jaebum went very still as he suddenly realized just how close they were standing. He hadn’t done something this… intimate in a while, not since he had broken up with his last girlfriend. 

“We?” she had echoed, her voice barely above a whisper.

 

 

 

 

Fans will want to see EXO and GOT7 mingling, the staff tells them repeatedly. The members have to talk amongst themselves, to make it entertaining and interesting.

Jaebum is told to keep being watchful, to occasionally make comments so that the fans will know he is looking out for Jinri well.

“Just like you’ve been doing so far,” one of the staff members assures him. “You’re a natural.”

By some miracle Jaebum doesn’t laugh.

Mari pulls him over to join her and Youngju with Baekhyun and Jongdae. At first Jaebum thinks it’s strictly so that his presence will make the scene look less like a double date, but then he realizes her true motive—Baekhyun, Jongdae and Youngju are three of the chattiest people there, so they can carry the conversation and Jaebum can be as quiet as he wants.

He quickly wishes they would carry it a different way. Or at least that Baekhyun wasn’t the one standing next to him. Jaebum had chosen this spot so that he would be able to keep an eye on Jinri and Sehun, but that means Baekhyun can see them, too.

“They’re pretty together,” Baekhyun remarks.

“Yeah.” Mari sighs dreamily. “Peach couple.”

Jongdae and Baekhyun laugh at that. “Peach couple?” Jongdae echoes.

“Unnie named them,” Youngju explains. “Since we call Jinri unnie Princess Peach.”

“Youngju named her,” Mari says.

“Yeah?” Jongdae smiles at Youngju. “It’s cute.”

“Thanks,” Youngju says, smiling back. “I, um, thought you were really good in West Side Story.”

Jinri and Sehun are talking, too, Jaebum can see. Jinri says something and Sehun bends his head, then shakes it when she repeats herself. She laughs, then rests her hand on his shoulder and leans up, whispering in his ear. Jaebum doesn’t care what anyone says: there’s no way Sehun’s hearing is bad enough that Jinri needs to lean in _that_ close to make herself heard.

“Oh, thank you!” Jongdae says meanwhile. “You saw it?”

She nods. “I went twice,” she admits.

“Oh, wow!” Jongdae leans in closer to Youngju. Which is great for Jaebum, since this gives him a clearer view of Sehun and Jinri. Sehun is looking down at Jinri—wait, how far down? Is he looking at Jinri’s chest _again_? 

“Your jaw is going to fall off if you don’t stop clenching it like that,” Mari tells Jaebum.

“I’m being protective,” Jaebum says through gritted teeth.

“Like a _good oppa_ ,” Mari says pointedly. The words _not like a jealous boyfriend_ go unspoken but still come across loud and clear.

“Are you interested in musicals?” Jongdae is asking Youngju, raising his voice.

“Um, maybe. Right now I’m focusing a lot on writing, producing, things like that.”

“You wrote Rewind, right?” He beams when she nods. “That was my favorite from your new album.”

“Oh, thank you!” Youngju smiles back. “You can listen to the one I’m working on now, if you want.”

“Really? That would be great!”

“Can we?” Youngju asks Jaebum.

“Sure,” Jaebum says absently, his eyes still on Jinri and Sehun. Now she’s straightening his tie. It doesn’t even look crooked!

“She’s very smooth,” Baekhyun tells Mari as soon as Youngju and Jongdae are gone.

“So is Jongdae-ssi,” she agrees.

Jaebum abruptly snaps out of it, whipping around to face them. “What do you mean? Youngju and Jongdae-ssi?” 

Mari laughs loudly at his disbelief. Baekhyun smirks. “Maybe they should get married, too,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows as if to show how he’d be saying something else entirely if the cameras weren’t rolling.

Who even let EXO debut, anyway? Jaebum thinks darkly.

Not that Youngju and Jongdae have time to do much of anything, since before long they’re all brought together for pictures. Jaebum takes his indicated place next to Jinri—not his usual place in the lineup at all, but the staff want the group leaders standing next to Sehun and Jinri and Jaebum’s grateful for it. He feels like he’s hardly gotten to see Jinri ever since he led her to Sehun's side. They’re close enough that he can feel her warmth, can catch a faint scent of her soft, familiar perfume, and he can’t help but feel a little better.

“Now Sehun-ssi and Jinri-ssi,” a staff member requests, waving the rest of them away. The cameras are still rolling, so Jaebum can’t say much. He contents himself with staring narrow-eyed at Sehun—it’s what he’s supposed to do, after all!—and brushing his hand against Jinri’s in a move he hopes will look accidental to any of the fans that spot it. The way she curls her pinky around his would be a harder sell, but it’s only a second before she lets go, and it’s not like anyone can see how it tugs at his heart.

“They look good together,” Joonmyun says proudly as they all walk away.

Chanyeol looks over his shoulder. Jaebum doesn’t, and the expression that flickers across Chanyeol’s face is why. “Yeah, they do,” Chanyeol says, fixing a smile on his face.

 

 

 

 

They’re all pulled aside one at a time to film some interview segments, too. Jaebum is one of the last. It had been pretty painless last time, but this time is another story.

“Remember, the emphasis is on how protective you are of Jinri-ssi,” the staff member says as two more touch up his hair and make-up. Jaebum nods and does his best to keep from thinking about how he does want to protect her, and how he never really can. “But we have to reassure the viewers that you do support her and Sehun-ssi, that Sehun-ssi is a good match for her. Just remember, that’s what you have to get across.” He hands Jaebum a script. “Most of it you can put in your own words, but the last one—try to just read what it says, as much as you can. It’s important.”

Jaebum promptly skips right to the end of the script, and feels his stomach roil as he reads the last speech they’ve written for him. It strikes too close to home, especially today. The last thing he wants to do is say it all and pretend it’s okay, that he’s just a caring, protective leader and oppa, not a man so in love he can barely see straight anymore.

But this show—this entire industry—isn’t about what he wants. It’s about doing what’s best to promote his team; what’s best to help the most important person in his life. So he pastes on a smile and starts reciting his lines, one segment at a time, ending with:

“I’ve been by Jinri’s side for a long time, ever since we auditioned.” He adds in a rueful laugh for good measure. “I’ve always tried to take care of her. But I’ve always known it would be someone else’s job someday. I wanted to be sure she’s with a husband who deserves her.” He’s not sure how he’s not choking on the words; how he’s keeping the benign smile on his face. Maybe he learned more from acting lessons than he’d realized. “I’m glad she has Sehun-ssi.”

 

 

 

 

The moment after Jinri’s whisper-soft, “ _We_?” seemed to last forever, both of them staring at each other like a scene out of Dream High 2. Jaebum could have mentioned that and defused the situation, or stepped back, or done one of a thousand safer things. Maybe he _should_ have.

But it was one of those moments when the last thing he could do was hold out against Park Jinri. Especially when there was something wrong and he could do something, anything, to make her feel better. “You know I can’t do this without you,” he reminded her with a self-deprecating smile. “You’re the whole reason we got this far.”

“People will like Youngju and Mari unnie, too,” Jinri said, then bit her lip. “And they’re prettier than me. My hair…”

“Everybody has bad hair,” Jaebum said with a shrug. “You saw Mari’s perm, right?” Jinri’s lips twitched. “I mean, my turn’s tomorrow. I could end up getting mine all shaved off or something.”

“You make everything look good, though,” Jinri said.

“So do you.”

She snorted. “Even this?”

“Let me see.” He tugged lightly at her hood again, and this time she let it fall without hesitation. Her hair was awful, there was no other word for it, but this was _Jinri_. Even then, in Jaebum’s eyes she was already the most beautiful girl he would ever know.

“It’s growing on me,” he said quietly.

 

 

 

 

Most of them leave after they're done the individual filming, though Jinri has to stay behind to film some more with Sehun.

Jaebum stares out the van window, though it’s not the scenery he’s seeing. All he can think about is Jinri in her princess wedding dress, holding Sehun’s hands; about Sehun kissing her cheek. They had really looked like a couple today. Like it was a real wedding.

Jaebum can’t bear to think about Jinri being with someone else, but now he can’t stop thinking about it. Sehun really likes her, Jaebum can tell, no matter what is going on between him and Chanyeol. If Jinri decides she likes him back, Jaebum is sure that Sehun would leap at the chance to be with her. Who wouldn’t? It’s _Jinri_.

“Hyung?” Yugyeom asks meekly from the backseat. Youngju shushes him. Jaebum turns up the volume on his music and closes his eyes. He doesn’t want to talk to anyone now, or to reflect on how the van should have one more person in it.

When they get back to the dorm, Jaebum sheds his clothes as fast as he can, then crawls into bed and almost immediately falls into a dreamless sleep.

He probably would have stayed that way until morning if he hadn't been woken by the feeling of the mattress shifting as a second person joins him.

It takes a second, but his gaze focuses on the person leaning over him: Jinri, still in full makeup and dressed in the clothes she had worn to film today. She must have just gotten home. But…

“What are you doing?” he asks blearily, tucking a wayward section of hair back behind her ear. She’s here, with _him_ , is all he can think.

“I…” She stares down at him, then, resolute, leans in and kisses him.

Jaebum has had so many dreams like this, but they have nothing on the reality of Jinri in his arms, in his bed; the heat of her mouth claiming his, the weight of her as she straddles his hips, the tug as her hands sink into his hair.

There have always been a million reasons for them not to do this, and none of them have gone away, but for the life of him Jaebum can’t think of any of them right now. If this is it, then Jaebum wants to make sure that it’s more than worth the wait for Jinri.

He’s not sure what he is expecting, but it’s not for Jinri to break the kiss long enough to tug on the sheet between them.

“No, wait, I’m not wearing-” Jaebum begins. 

“I don’t care,” Jinri says breathlessly. And then she pulls it away, then over them both, tenting them in the darkness as she lies fully against him. Her short skirt billows around them, leaving nothing between them but the thin barrier of her cotton panties, which would be so easy to pull off and—

Jaebum kisses her harder than ever to try to fend off the thought, both of them moaning as she grinds down against him. He can’t let them lose complete control, he can’t, no matter how badly he wants to.

“Jinri, we can’t—” he has to pull away long enough to say.

“I know,” she pants, but doesn’t let up, every stroke making it harder for Jaebum to remember his own name, much less why letting Jinri ride him for real would be a bad idea. “I just—I need, let me—” 

He frees a hand and curls it around the back of her neck, pulling her back down so they can kiss again and again. He can’t believe he held out for so long, can’t understand why anymore, but clearly the only thing to do now is make up for as much time as possible.

He slips his hands under her skirt and finally cups her ass. It feels so good, so perfect, even better than he’s ever imagined. Jinri sobs into his mouth, shivers all over as he squeezes, then kisses her even harder, guiding her into a faster grind. He’s steadily losing his mind at the heat radiating from her, at how wet he can feel she is through the thin fabric of material between them, at how incredible even this much feels. He’s so close, holding back by the skin of his teeth, but she has to come first. He has to take care of her, always.

“ _Oppa_ ,” she whines, her voice breaking on the word. He moves, already knows, reaching between them and rubs her clit until she comes, shaking violently against him, muffling her wail against his shoulder. He wants to hear her, he wants everything, but he knows he can’t ask for more, not when she’s already giving him so much—

Then he can’t think about that, or about anything, as she curls her hand around his cock. Only a few strokes and he’s coming, body bowing up, mind wiped of anything but her as he comes harder than he ever has.

Once his head clears, he automatically turns toward Jinri. In some corner of his mind he wishes he could see her better, is sure she looks more beautiful than ever like this, but the moonlight doesn’t illuminate much and he can’t be bothered to turn on the lights. Not when he can touch her instead.

Jinri kisses him one more time, soft and sweet; then she burrows into his arms and kisses his neck before pillowing her head on his shoulder. He holds her tight, kissing her hairline. 

He doesn’t ever want to let her go, is the last thing he thinks before sleep claims him, not now that she’s where she belongs…

 

 

 

 

Jinri laughed shakily. “You have to think so,” she said. “I’m your bias, right?” Her tone was teasing, normal, but the way her eyes were searching his wasn’t. The way they were alone in the dorm, standing much too close, unable to move away… none of that was normal, either.

Jaebum’s hand was still on her cheek, but he couldn’t let it drop. “Yeah,” he choked out. 

“Good,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes darted down to his mouth, then back up to meet his.

Jaebum leaned in, unable to resist anymore—

And then his phone rang, startling them apart.

Jaebum fumbled as he grabbed it out of his back pocket, nearly dropping the phone entirely at least twice because of how badly his hands were shaking. He managed a short laugh when he saw their manager’s name on the display, and flipped it around to show Jinri before answering.

It was nothing major—the managers hadn’t bugged the room and seen him and Jinri, or anything like that. It was just a call to remind him about his own styling appointment. Nothing major, except for how it was an all too timely reminder of how there are so many reasons why that kiss would have been a huge mistake. Judging by the resigned smile on Jinri’s face as she stepped back, then turned away, she knew it, too.

“Are you okay?” their manager asked abruptly before she hung up. “You sound strange.”

“I’m fine,” Jaebum lied as he watched Jinri walk away.

 

 

 

 

This time when he wakes up, it’s dawn and he’s alone.

He sits up fast, but that doesn’t change anything—Jinri is nowhere in sight. It wasn’t another dream, though. He can smell traces of her on his pillow, can see the outline of a second person in the sheets. More than that, he feels different, like on some fundamental level he’s been rewritten.

The problem is, he doesn’t know what to do about it. He’s spent so many years telling himself that something like last night can’t happen for a long time yet, has been so sure that Jinri thinks waiting is best, too. 

Last night changes everything, doesn’t it? But if it does, then why isn’t she still here, with him? 

But they have schedules today, and the K-pop industry doesn’t slow down for any idol, so he drags himself out of bed and through his morning routine, wondering all the while what Jinri is thinking and what will happen when their paths cross next… well, when he can think about anything but the night before, anyway.

He finds out soon enough: for the first time in weeks, Jinri is ready and waiting in the common room when Jaebum walks in. She and Yugyeom are both looking at their phones, while Youngju is dozing on Jinri’s shoulder, the three of them piled on the couch like it’s any normal morning. 

Jinri looks up from her phone as soon as he walks in. Their eyes lock, and for a second Jaebum is nearly knocked over from the force of it—from how badly he wants to cross the room and kiss her again and never let her go, and from the intensity in her eyes, like she is thinking the same thing.

Then she smiles, the transition so seamless that he wonders why more companies aren’t hammering down JYPE’s door with drama offers for her. “How did you sleep?” Jinri asks cheerfully.

Jaebum just stares in disbelief. She widens her eyes at him. She wants him to play along, he realizes, his heart sinking. 

That’s it, then. It needs to be like nothing ever happened.

He’s not sure if that makes things easier or harder for him. He’s really not sure how he’s supposed to act like this is just another morning, when it’s already taking everything he has not to kneel down in front of her and wrap his arms around her waist and just hold her.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took an absurdly long time, I apologize! The first half of the chapter wasn't clicking, but thanks to C & E's help I figured out why and whipped it into shape. And, of course, it's all thanks to K that it even has a shape to start with. ♥
> 
> Its shape has changed slightly, by the way: I had always planned for this to have seven chapters, but it became clear that chapter six as originally planned contained wayyyy too much, so I've split it in half! Now the story will have eight chapters altogether.
> 
> Quick notes: The comeback in this chapter is, of course, partly inspired by AOA's [Like a Cat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEYOyZVWlzs), and Jinri's MV outfit is inspired by AOA's [Miniskirt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6f-LLM1H6U) (which is a nod to [GOT7's cover of it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBV1VPgcCkI)). The Mari outfit referenced is inspired by [this Moonbyul look](https://68.media.tumblr.com/29a5746227213e4bf8e3ca3cef2c4cfd/tumblr_og97apWKef1tgke6yo1_500.jpg), and Bambam's is a reference to [this Hush stage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXCaLyTleIE).

Jaebum is having the dream again.

It’s the wedding night, but this time they’re in the kitchen, not Jaebum’s bedroom, and Jinri is still in her wedding dress instead of her street clothes. This time Jaebum is kneeling under her skirts, eating her out for all he’s worth; still able to hear her moans and register her hands in his hair, even though that would be impossible in real life.

But then suddenly it’s Sehun’s name she’s saying instead, and Jaebum can feel Sehun standing against his back. His vision fractures, the dream taking on another layer, so that he can both see Jinri and Sehun kissing with one part of his mind even though his dream self is still pressed between their legs, closing in tighter over him with every second, lost in what feels like a thousand layers of tulle as it gets harder and harder for him to breathe— 

He wakes up gasping and reaching out for someone he already knows isn’t there.

 

 

 

 

Sehun isn’t the one Jinri really wants, the one Jinri _needs_. Jaebum knows that. The day, and night, that they had all filmed the wedding proved it. But that doesn’t make watching the latest We Got Married episode any easier; doesn’t make him feel better about seeing Sehun and Jinri companionable and comfortable in their shared apartment, almost like a real couple.

“My members are all coming,” Sehun says proudly onscreen as he and Jinri make a wedding planning list. It will be a few more weeks before the wedding episode airs; plenty of time for Jaebum to wonder about what will make it onscreen, and what he would have seen in the footage that was cut. “They’re all fighting over who should be my best man.”

Jinri laughs. “They love you a lot.”

“Of course they do,” Sehun says with a grin. “I’m the maknae. I’m their favorite.”

“I was the maknae once,” Jinri says. “In JJ Project.” A graphic appears onscreen of Jinri and Jaebum from their JJ Project days, Jinri in the tank top and pleated miniskirt that had been her iconic outfit in their debut concept and had given Jaebum a lot of sleepless nights and feverish fantasies.

Sehun laughs. “You’re such a good noona, though. Sometimes you even seem like a noona to me!”

Jinri grins at Sehun and reaches across the small kitchen table to squeeze his hand. Seeing her real smile makes Jaebum’s heart clutch even more than usual; it’s been days since she’s had any to spare for him. He knows that she’s in retreat mode and that no one will be able to pry her out of it until she’s ready, not even Jaebum, but that doesn’t make it any easier to handle.

“Do you want me to be your noona?” she teases Sehun onscreen.

“Jinri noona,” Sehun returns, his voice lilting, and they both giggle.

Yugyeom and Bambam immediately turn to Jaebum, who dimly realizes that his jaw is starting to hurt from how tightly he’s clenching it. “Would _you_ call Jinri noona that?” Yugyeom teases.

Jaebum kicks them both off the couch, hoping fervently that neither of them noticed how just the thought made his face heat up.

 

 

 

 

Fortunately for him, now that comeback preparations are in full swing he doesn’t have too much time to think about the show at all.

GOT7 are at the point where they get a say in their concepts and videos, so when comeback talk first started they gathered together to make their Power Point presentation for what they want from their music video. Bambam and Yugyeom had lobbied for a sexy concept, while Mari and Youngju had argued for a video game themed one. Jackson had had an extended debate with himself about just how sexy Mari’s outfits should be, like always, and as usual the others had tuned him out. 

Jinri had kept quiet for most of the meeting. Jaebum had half-heartedly asked both sides for various points of clarification while keeping an eye on Jinri. He knew that thoughtful expression. She had an idea, too.

And then Jinri had said, “What about something sort of like what you all want? Like magicians? Or a heist?”

“Like Ocean’s 11!” Bambam had exclaimed immediately, his eyes widening.

“I can be the thief,” Mari chimed in. “Going through a laser grid!”

“In leather,” Jackson said, staring starry-eyed at her as she winked back at him. Then he paused. “No, wait…”

“Heist concept?” Jaebum asked everyone, and received unanimous agreement.

They discussed and debated and finally had a working presentation. JYPE had polished the idea further, and before they knew it their title song was recorded and it was time to film the video.

 

 

 

 

“I think I want red hair this time,” Bambam says as he piles into the van with Jaebum and Jinri the next day for the most important comeback preparation of all: their new hairstyles. “What about you, hyung?”

Jaebum shrugs. “It doesn’t matter.” By now he mostly leaves it up to the coordi noonas, who cycle between variants of the same few cuts and colors for him. They’ve had years to figure out what looks work best on him, after all.

“What about you, noona?”

“You’ll see,” Jinri says mysteriously.

Bambam’s eyes widen. “Are you dyeing it blonde?”

“You’ll _see_!”

“Noona, tell me!”

Jinri keeps silent the whole way there, leaving both Jaebum and Bambam to be stunned when she rejoins them after her turn: her dark hair is now cut into a sleek, pretty bob just beneath her chin.

“I thought you were never cutting it again!” Bambam says, his eyes a mile wide as Jinri turns her head this way and that to show it off. “You look so good!”

“Heeyeon unnie inspired me,” Jinri explains with a smile. “And I showed them pictures of what I wanted this time.”

“Can we take a selca for Yugyeom?” Bambam asks hopefully. Jinri nods, and they pose for a quick selca together.

While Bambam texts away, Jinri turns to Jaebum, the movement sending her hair swinging. “What do you think, oppa?” she asks quietly. “You haven’t said anything.”

Jaebum tucks a strand behind her ear, realizing a beat too late that it’s the first time he’s touched her since the wedding night. He’s struck, suddenly, by a visceral memory from then, Jinri leaning over him for one kiss after another, her long hair falling around them like a curtain. By another memory of her when they were waiting to perform their debut stage; her hair had been short then, too, always pulled back into cute, spiky pigtails. Jaebum had spent so much time trying not to stare at the line of her neck, her jawline, the curve of her ears…

He thinks the same thing now that he always has, every time he looks at her: “You look perfect,” he tells her simply. 

Jinri swallows. This is the longest they’ve spoken since that night, he realizes dimly; she seems to recognize it, too. “Oppa…” 

In an ideal world, this is when they would have been able to talk everything out, when they would have finally reached the same page in their relationship. But this is as much time as they can steal—Bambam finishes his text, and their manager sweeps them all off to their next location, and Jaebum is left to wonder.

 

 

 

 

The music video storyline hadn’t taken long to decide on. “You guys should be the criminals,” Bambam had told the girls.

“Jinri noona has to be the evil mastermind,” Yugyeom had elaborated.

“What if we’re good criminals?” Youngju had pointed out.

“Yeah, like Robin Hood!” Mari had added.

They never quite settled the debate about the girls’ motivations, although JYP himself mentioned with a mysterious air that he had some ideas, it was decided that the girls are going to be the thieves: Mari will be doing the legwork, crawling through air ducts and making her way through the much lobbied for laser grid and having a near-miss with bodyguard Jackson. Youngju is the hacker, giving Mari instructions through an ear piece and distracting security guards Yugyeom and Bambam by hacking into and playing with their computer systems. Jinri is the mastermind, by unanimous agreement, who poses as rich businessman Jaebum’s personal assistant to get all the inside information her crew needs, then plans how they’ll empty his huge walk-in safe of its jewels and gold.

Bambam had gasped dramatically at this point in the brainstorming process. “Does Jinri noona seduce Jaebum hyung?” he had blurted out.

Jaebum had jolted in his seat at the loud words. He could hear Yugyeom laughing, probably at him, but only had eyes for Jinri, who had stared at him for a moment, her eyes dark and impossible to read, before she deliberately looked away.

“She’s on We Got Married, she can’t,” Youngju had reminded Bambam with a laugh.

“She was married to Jaebum hyung first!”

“Women don’t need to use sex to get what they want,” Jinri had said serenely. She was acting; her eyes were focused on Bambam and Youngju, and her voice was level, but Jaebum could read the tension in the line of her shoulders. “She should just be doing her job.”

“But what if she falls for him, too?” Yugyeom had piped up suddenly, sitting up straighter in his chair. “Think about it! If this is the first one, and they steal his fortune-”

“In the next one he can track them down!” Bambam had chimed in. 

Jackson had looked sidelong at Jaebum. “How does it end, hyung?”

He was the last person Jackson should be asking that question, Jaebum had thought wryly even then.

 

 

 

 

Being handed their outfits for any comeback is always an adventure. This time it starts when Mari steps out of the girls’ dressing room in a tight leather bodysuit that zips down the front. Jaebum swears that he can hear Jackson’s jaw drop. 

Mari grins at him. “Too sexy?”

Jackson sputters something Jaebum can’t even begin to decipher, though he’s not sure if it’s because it’s in a language Jaebum isn’t fluent enough in or if it’s not in any human language at all. 

Bambam being Bambam, he decides that this gives him leverage in his wardrobe negotiations with the coordi noonas. “Mari noona can’t be the only sexy one,” he insists. “One of us has to do it, too, so it’s fair!” 

Jaebum isn’t entirely sure how that argument makes sense, but the coordis are always indulgent of Bambam, and he ends up being able to pick out one of his outfits for his solo rapping shots—a pair of leather pants Jaebum can’t even imagine wanting to squeeze himself into, a silver chain harness, and a cropped black turtleneck sweater. 

“Leather line!” Bambam says for the ever present cameras, stretching out one leg and striking a pose. Mari laughs loudly and wraps her arms around him, pressing their cheeks together.

“Selca, selca!” she clamors, and they both get their phones out and take turns snapping pictures.

“I’m posting mine,” Bambam says. “You should, too, noona.”

“Okay,” she agrees.

Jaebum fervently hopes that there won’t be too much footage aired of Yugyeom standing nearby and staring, star-struck, at Bambam in the videos that will be compiled for the fans. He _really_ hopes that he’s the only one who had caught a glimpse of Bambam putting one of his own chokers around Yugyeom’s neck earlier, and of the way Yugyeom’s eyes had fluttered shut as Bambam had whispered something in his ear. 

Youngju, pretty in a long-sleeved, high-necked black skater dress that suits her girl next door image but fits tighter than most of her clothes usually do, rushes past him to film her own solo scenes. Jaebum barely has time to shout something encouraging after her before it’s his turn to be pulled aside to get ready to film his initial scenes with Jinri.

This isn’t the first music video with a blatant romantic subplot between Jinri and Jaebum, not when their career is largely built on their chemistry with each other. Jaebum has lost count of the number of photoshoots and interviews they’ve done as a pair even after redebuting as part of GOT7, and of the number of variety appearances and fan events where they had been pointedly reminded beforehand that fans will want to see them interact. Jaebum always answers these cues with easy agreements and pretends to appreciate the praise they get afterwards for how successful their fan service was. He figures he doesn’t need to tell anyone that any time he smiles at Jinri, or talks to her, or just stares with helpless wonder, it’s something he would have done on his own; that pleasing the fans is just a side benefit, not his goal.

The coordis slick back Jaebum’s hair and hand him a dark suit. He’s still buttoning his second cuff as he steps out of the room, only to let his arm drop, forgotten, as he looks up and sees Jinri waiting for him. 

She’s wearing glasses, a red pencil skirt, a white blouse with enough buttons undone to bare the creamy skin of her collarbone, and a bird brooch to pay a subtle tribute to their Ahgases. Jaebum _wants_ —not that that’s saying as much as it could about the outfit, to be honest. She could be wearing anything and he would want her just as much.

Jinri’s gaze darts up and down, taking him in, and her smile is almost shy. “You look nice,” she says. 

“Like I have a fortune?” Jaebum jokes.

“Always,” Jinri says softly.

Jaebum swallows, taken aback by the sudden shift in mood as she steps closer. “You, um-” he begins.

“Jinri-ssi, we need you over here!” one of the staff members calls, waving to her.

Jinri gives him a wry smile. “Later?”

“Maybe.”

She sighs, giving his arm a quick squeeze before she walks away, her red heels clicking against the floor. Jaebum stares after her in spite of himself, and spares a moment to be grateful that her wedding dress hadn’t allowed for that kind of back view. He’s not sure how he would have made it through the day.

 

 

 

 

There are always extra cameras around on filming days, capturing footage to use for behind the scenes footage and surprises for the fans. The staff gives any free members continual tasks for it, too. When Jinri and Jaebum finish their scenes together, Bambam is waiting for them, an ahgabong in his hand and Jackson on his heels. 

Bambam thrusts the ahgabong at Jinri as a makeshift microphone. “Jaebum hyung is in love with you,” Bambam says in his best imitation of a reporter urgently seeking an interview, which will hopefully distract any ahgase watching from Jaebum’s incredulous double take at Bambam’s words. “What about you, mastermind-nim?”

Jinri shrugs exaggeratedly. “She’s just doing her job.”

It’s the first time she’s referred to their characters in third person in anything they have filmed. Jaebum wonders how long it will take the fans to notice.

Bambam clutches at his chest. “Girls are so cold-”

“You can’t say it like that,” Jackson protests. “There are lots of nice women! Just look at our ahgases.” He smiles wide at the camera, pulling yet another finger-heart from beneath his shirt. Then he promptly laughs at his own cheesiness, slinging his arm around Jinri as she laughs despite herself.

“You’re the one who doesn’t even believe in forever love,” Bambam teases him.

“I changed my mind,” Jackson says serenely, and grins at the camera again. “Becaaaaause of our ahgases!” He pulls out at least three more finger hearts, cackling all the while, before Jaebum finally gets him in a headlock and he and Jinri tow Jackson along to join the others for group filming.

 

 

 

 

The filming runs late, as always. By three Jackson is asleep, his head on Mari’s lap. Bambam and Yugyeom are looking at something on Youngju’s phone, all three of them giggling, punch drunk. 

Jaebum could be asleep, too. God knows he wishes he were. Instead he’s monitoring Jinri’s solo shots. They’ve always watched each other film, ever since Bounce, though back then Jaebum had pretended, even to himself, that it was because he just wanted to look for tiny flaws he could needle her about the way she did with him. 

The director confers with her after her latest take, Jinri listening solemnly and then nodding. She returns to her place, then glances Jaebum’s way. He smiles, as widely as he can manage at this point, and a matching smile flickers across her face before she snaps back to attention.

After what feels like an eternity, they all crawl back into their van as dawn is creeping over the horizon. Youngju is sleepily teasing Jackson about how it took two extra takes before he could finish filming the scene where he, in character as Jaebum’s bodyguard, is dazzled by a glimpse of cat burglar Mari and ends up being easy for Jinri to chloroform. 

“Her outfit’s too sexy!” Jackson protests, grouchier than usual from lack of sleep. “It was distracting!”

Mari nuzzles his neck, her eyes not even opening. “You’re too sexy,” she mumbles.

Jinri curls up against Mari’s other shoulder, her eyes long since closed, though her breathing’s not even enough for her to be asleep yet. Jaebum tries not to think about how she felt in his arms on the sofa so long ago; in his bed so much more recently.

“You all did really well,” he tells everyone again—at least, he thinks it’s again. He tries to encourage them at times like this, but he is tired enough that he can’t remember what all he said to them after filming wrapped. 

Jinri’s eyes open, and she smiles; just a hint of one, but it’s enough for him. He smiles back, then turns around in his seat and settles in so that her face will be the last thing he sees before his own nap.

 

 

 

 

Mari had texted Jaebum that she and the other girls were going to broadcast on V App that night, so he tunes in when he gets a break from his voice lesson.

“Yes, I’m blonde again!” Youngju is exclaiming when the video loads; apparently in answer to a fan question, judging by how all three girls are studying their phones. “I wanted to try it one more time. It’s been so long since Stop Stop It!”

“It looks really good,” Mari tells her.

Youngju beams. “Yours, too!” 

Mari tosses her light brown hair dramatically, and they both laugh.

Jinri is sitting between them on the sofa, her chin cupped in her hand, watching them each in turn. Her gaze isn’t as focused as usual. It’s one of the days when their lack of sleep is hitting her harder than usual, Jaebum thinks, and wonders if any of the fans have noticed.

Youngju must have noticed, because she promptly back hugs Jinri. “What do you think of Jinri unnie’s hair?” Youngju asks their fans, resting her chin on Jinri’s shoulder.

“Pretty, pretty,” Mari chimes in.

“Prettiest princess,” Youngju says fondly.

Mari nuzzles Jinri’s cheek. “Princess Peach.”

“Stop,” Jinri says, covering her mouth with her hand as she laughs. There’s a flurry of hearts from the fans, the way there always is when Jinri laughs during broadcast, or does anything that sets off the catlike wrinkles around her eyes. She had been nervous about them when she was a trainee, Jaebum remembers, but one of the first constant praises that had been made about her once JJ Project had debuted was how charming they were.

The girls all read the comments for a moment. Jinri laughs quickly. “Yes, Sehun likes my hair,” she says.

“He should,” Mari says.

“Sometimes guys like long hair,” Youngju points out.

“A good husband would want his wife to have the hair she likes,” Mari says firmly.

“It’s important for people to be happy with themselves the way they are,” Jinri says. Youngju promptly starts humming the chorus of ‘Just Right’.

Mari nods. “Ahgases, you’re just right no matter what, okay?”

There’s a bombardment of hearts and loving comments at that, moving so fast Jaebum can’t keep up. It’s like the virtual version of how Mari steals everyone’s heart at fan events, sending even previously uninterested fans away flustered and starry-eyed. 

Jaebum doesn’t get to watch much more before his break is over and he has to get back to work. He takes one last look at all three girls, giggling together over something, and sends a few hearts of his own before putting his phone away.

 

 

 

 

Between comeback preparations and K-Con they barely have time to breathe, but after Jackson had run himself into an extended hospital stay the year before their managers always schedule in a couple of free nights for the group during especially busy times. 

On this one Jinri catches Jaebum’s arm as their paths cross in the kitchen. She’s hardly touched him at all since that night in his room, and even something this light and simple has him stopping dead in his tracks, turning toward her. 

Jinri swallows; nothing most people would have noticed, but Jaebum isn’t most people. When she speaks, her voice is carefully pleasant, like when they’ve been thrown into a variety situation that she’s not quite sure how to navigate. “Youngju and I are going out later, if that’s okay. I told her I’d help her see Jongdae-ssi before the trip.”

Jaebum frowns. “Aren’t there enough EXO members around already?”

“Jongdae-ssi is the first guy she’s really liked since That Asshole broke her heart,” Jinri reminds him, sounding more like herself now. 

Jaebum reflexively curls his fist, thinking about Youngju’s ugly breakup with another idol the year before. “Do you need me to come with you?” he asks. “I can drive.”

Jinri nods. “Thank you, oppa.”

She starts to step back, but this time he’s the one to reach out to her, the touch sparking through him again as her eyes immediately fly up to meet his. There’s no such thing as true privacy in the shared areas of the dorm, but it’s surprisingly quiet for once, enough that they could easily steal a kiss if they wanted to, could maybe slip away for more…

Jaebum swallows and lets his hand drop. “We should talk when we get back,” he says quietly.

“I don’t know if we’ll have time,” she hedges. 

“We’ll never really have time,” he says wryly. “But we need to.”

She searches his gaze, then sighs softly. “Okay. We’ll talk.”

 

 

 

 

This is far from the first time Jaebum has ended up next to Jinri in a movie theater. The members go see movies in groups when they have free time, or even all together when the crowds will be smaller. Jaebum and Jinri have even gone on pseudo double dates before with Mari and Jackson, Mari and Jinri chattering and arm-in-arm on their way in so that no one watching will think twice about how Jackson always ends up sitting on Mari’s other side.

This is the first time Jaebum has ended up next to Jinri after what happened the last time they were together in the dark. He pays more attention to her than the movie, noticing seemingly every time she shifts in her seat, every quiet reaction she has.

Maybe he’s just tired from how busy they’ve all been lately, but the movie doesn’t hold his attention in general. It’s not long before his eyes close, no matter how much he struggles to keep them open…

The next thing he knows, Jinri is on her knees in front of him

“Oppa,” Jinri chides, her smile more catlike than ever, “you forgot to wear pants.”

Which doesn’t make sense, even dream-Jaebum knows that; but unlike all his dreams about finding himself naked during fan meets abroad or while performing special stages with the 2PM members, he’s not nervous or embarrassed at all, just so sure Jinri will take care of him.

“Jinri…” he says quietly, urgently.

She laughs and leans in without hesitation, wrapping one soft hand around the base of his cock. She presses a kiss to the head, looking up at him while she does it, then closes her eyes and takes him into her mouth.

Jaebum groans, pressing back against his seat before he curls forward and slides his fingers through her hair—long again, the curls she had had for their Just Right promotions winding easily around his fingers, the way he had developed a habit of doing when they had all rested together in the practice room or the common area after especially grueling events or practices. 

Jaebum can’t even remember the last time someone sucked him off; not since after his last breakup, before he had decided he was tired of trying to casually sleep with people when there was only one girl he really wanted. Even so, he would swear that this is the best he’s ever had, hot and wet and perfect; her fingertips trailing down his thighs or over his balls by turns, her soft lips pressing a kiss to his forehead… Jaebum wants this to last forever, but he wants—

“Oppa?” A quiet, fond sigh. “ _Oppa_.”

His eyes open slowly. He must have fallen asleep, he dimly realizes as he blinks blearily at the screen. The credits have just started to roll, but something about them looks different.

Which is when he realizes it’s because he’s looking at them sideways, since his head is on Jinri’s shoulder. He must have tipped over at some point in his sleep.

“You smell good,” he mumbles, just awake enough to know he needs to resist the urge to press closer. 

He can feel her laugh. “Are you really awake?” she murmurs.

“Maybe.” 

They have to get out before the lights come up, though, so he pries himself out of his seat and follows Youngju and Jinri outside. There’s no sign of Jongdae, who must have slipped out even before they did.

Jaebum rubs at his already protesting neck. Tomorrow might not be much fun, he reflects ruefully. “How long was I asleep?” he asks the girls.

“A while,” Jinri tells him.

“I can’t believe you fell asleep, oppa,” Youngju says, laughing. Her eyes are brighter than they have been in days. While Jaebum still isn’t sure how to feel about this, between Jongdae’s seniority and Jaebum’s conviction that no one is really good enough for Youngju, it’s good to see Youngju this happy. 

He gives her ponytail a quick, teasing tug. “I know, I’m getting old,” he says, resigned.

“Wait until I tell the kids,” Youngju says, and Jinri laughs as Jaebum groans.

 

 

 

 

Jaebum parks the car in their building’s parking garage, then meets Jinri’s eyes. She bites her lip but nods.

Youngju had dozed off in the backseat on the way home, but wakes up promptly when they arrive, the stopped car a signal their bodies have all long since learned to respond to. She unfastens her seatbelt and begins to get out, then pauses and looks up at them in confusion. “Aren’t you coming?” she asks.

“We’ll go in in a minute,” Jinri tells Youngju brightly.

But their Youngju isn’t fooled; she looks from one of them to the other, brow furrowed in concern, before giving Jinri a quick kiss on the cheek and letting herself out of the car.

The parking garage is about as private as life will get right now. But they won’t have much time, so Jaebum doesn’t hesitate.

“That night-” he begins.

“The managers talked to me about you,” Jinri interrupts, staring out the windshield, even though there’s nothing to see but the cars surrounding them.

Jaebum frowns. This wasn’t the direction he was expecting their conversation to go. “After the filming?”

“No, when they told me about the offer to join We Got Married.” Jinri swallows. “They said there was a lot of talk about us.”

“There’s always talk,” Jaebum says blankly. “That’s our concept.”

Jinri shakes her head. “Real talk. More than usual. Since it’s been so long since we debuted, and the dating ban will be lifted soon…”

Jaebum blinks. He hadn’t thought of that, since the supposed dating ban won’t be lifted for six months yet. No one has even brought it up in interviews yet. “Why didn’t anyone talk to me?”

“I told them not to say anything to you,” Jinri confesses. “It was easy to fix—I said yes to the show, so it gave people something new to think about.”

“You should have told me,” Jaebum says, frowning. “It’s my job to-”

“Sometimes it’s my turn to take care of you, oppa,” Jinri says quietly.

“I thought you wanted to do We Got Married,” Jaebum says at last, panic welling up inside him. If he’s misread her, misread all of this, so completely… if she’s put herself through a variety show she doesn’t even want just to protect him… “If you didn’t -”

“I like it,” Jinri assures him. “I like working with Sehun. I like how easy it is. I always know what they want from me, who they want me to be.” She traces the backs of his knuckles with her fingertip until he turns his palm up and takes her hand. “It’s usually so easy. Except that day…” She sighs, her shoulders slumping. “I thought a pretend wedding would be easy, too, but you were there, and… it wasn’t anymore.”

“It wasn’t for me, either,” Jaebum admits.

“I know. I think it’s just—that could have been what really happened. Not me marrying Sehun, but me being with someone else.” Her hand tightens on his even as she says the words.

He knows she’s right. If they had kept being in denial about their attraction and let it turn into pure dislike, if they had decided to stay stubbornly divided instead of mending their differences and learning to really work together—

Jaebum pushes the thought aside. He doesn’t want to imagine any version of his life right now where Jinri isn’t right by his side where she belongs, the only partner in all of this that he could ever want.

“The managers talked to me, too,” he tells her. It’s all he can offer, though it isn’t enough. It’s never enough. “They said after military service…”

She sighs, her gaze dropping away again. “I just keep thinking, if we try to be together but get caught, if people start to look at us—if they look at us, then they’ll wonder about Mari and Jackson, or even… what if they guess about Yugyeom and Bambam? What if they start wondering about Youngju? She really likes Jongdae oppa. I don’t want that ruined because of me.”

Jaebum stares at her profile, his heart in his throat. It would be so easy to close the distance between them, to kiss her again if she would let him, to steal all the time together behind these tinted windows that they could… but she’s right. If they take any more risks, they aren’t the only ones who would face the consequences.

“Military service,” he says with a hollow laugh.

She nods. “I guess… We knew when we chose this that we be giving up a lot, right? But we’re not giving each other up, not really. We’re just waiting. Right?”

“It’s the smartest thing to do,” he admits.

“We’re taking care of the others.” She finally looks at him again, a small smile crossing her face. “It’s like we really are their parents.”

Jaebum frowns, a sudden thought crossing his mind. “You don’t adopt kids on We Got Married or anything, do you?”

“They did film Sehun and I talking about how we both want children someday,” Jinri says thoughtfully.

Jaebum’s frown deepens. “When’s the We Got Divorced special?” he grumbles. But it’s his hand Jinri squeezes reassuringly, and he’s the one that sits with her for a little while longer in companionable silence, just taking time together while they can.

 

 

 

 

That might be where it would have ended, at least for now, but then they go to America…


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't intend to go this long between updates. I apologize! It's been a bit of an odd summer on the writing front, unfortunately. :/ But on the plus side, I'm 2000+ words into Chapter 8, so my goal is to focus and get that done soon!
> 
> There will be more notes at the end, but relatively non-spoilery ones for now: two of the places they visit in LA are the Hollywood & Highland Center and LA LA LAND, a warehouse-sized gift shop. And the KCON stage scene refers to the actual ending stage of KCON in 2015, in which Jinyoung did, in fact, have to go back and collect Bambam & Yugyeom after they lingered onstage too long!

The GOT7 dorm is in its typical state of chaos the night before they’re set to fly to Los Angeles. All seven members are packing, which always involves everyone talking at once and roaming all over the dorm, half the things they want to bring with them lost somewhere in the public area of their dorm.

Jaebum is digging through the sofa cushions in what he’s already sure is a doomed search for his favorite wallet when he overhears Mari ask Jinri, “Are you taking your blue sweater on the plane?”

“Actually, I was going to ask Jaebum oppa if I could borrow one of his.”

Jaebum glances up at the sound of his name, only to find that Jinri and Mari are both already looking his way. “Mine?” he asks blankly. 

Jinri nods. “Are you taking the grey one? It’s so comfortable.”

Jaebum remembers the sight of her in it on We Got Married, how she had been all but swimming in it during her night at the apartment with Sehun; how seeing her in it had satisfied something deep inside him even as he had seethed his way through watching her pretend to be interested in someone else.

Los Angeles will be Jinri and Sehun’s, too, soon enough. Jaebum likes knowing she’ll be wearing something of his again there first, even if it’s just for the plane ride. “You can borrow it,” he tells her.

She smiles, as if she knows what he’s thinking. “Thank you, oppa.”

 

 

 

 

 

The second Jaebum sees Jinri’s airport outfit he knows he’s in serious trouble, and by the time they reach the airport queue his suffering is acute. When Jinri is facing him he helplessly watches the hemline of her black shirt lift, flashing the soft skin of her belly underneath, then fall again, only to lift back up the second Jaebum’s heart starts to recover. But his view from the back isn’t any less painful—the borrowed sweater is slightly longer than her denim skirt, giving Jaebum all sorts of fantasies about Jinri in nothing but his sweater; walking around their imaginary apartment, maybe, or climbing on top of him in bed and—

“Thighs,” Mari whispers right in Jaebum’s ear, and cackles as he nearly jumps out of his skin.

Otherwise he tries to play it cool, all too aware of how many fans are watching—and filming—them, but it is, as ever, a losing game.

“Military service,” he murmurs in Jinri’s ear when she just happens to wind up in front of him in the security line.

She grins at him over her shoulder. “I don’t want you to get bored while we wait, oppa.”

Her tone is light, but Jaebum remembers how quiet and sullen she had been when he dated other girls back in JJ Project days. It makes him wonder if she does worry that he will get tired of waiting and move on.

Once the thought would have made him irritably wonder why she would doubt him. But years of knowing Jinri means he knows how reluctant she is to let her guard down and let herself hope for things, much less count on them. 

“That could never happen,” Jaebum promises, keeping his voice low. He can’t help being pleased with himself when this time she’s the one whose cheeks turn pink.

 

 

 

 

 

There’s something about America that always makes all of them feel different, freer. They don’t all show it as blatantly as Bambam does, maybe, but Jaebum can see the same light in all of their eyes, the way some members’ shoulders relax and the way others walk with an easier step. 

“Meet us in our room as soon as you’re ready,” Mari reminds Jaebum and the other boys yet again as their rental van stops in front of their hotel. “Mom and Dad are bringing us—”

“In-N-Out!” Yugyeom and Bambam chorus along with her, their initial grogginess from sleeping on the plane long since banished by singing along to music in the car and promises of fast food.

Like usual, GOT7’s hotel rooms are all on the same floor, but several doors apart. Jaebum and Jackson share the room next to Yugyeom and Bambam’s—Jaebum pulls rank and makes Jackson sleep in the bed against their shared wall, ignoring Jackson’s exaggerated protests and pouts—while Mari and Jinri share a third, with Youngju in with a manager. 

Mari’s parents show up not long after the group has settled in, her siblings in tow, and they all have a noisy—and delicious, thanks to the massive amounts of fast food the Tuans bring with them—reunion.

Partway through Jinri settles on the floor next to Jaebum. He’s barely keeping himself from dozing off over his food, but he is able to dimly note that she is still wearing his sweater. 

Jinri holds out one of her French fries. “Do you want one?”

Jaebum nods. The Tuans brought him soondubu jjigae (Papa Tuan adding with a grin that it wasn’t quite as good as the stew Jaebum cooks for them) and he’s not a fan of Western food, but he can make an exception for Jinri. 

Their fingertips brush as he takes the fry from her, and his gaze darts up to her face. She smiles but keeps her gaze fixed on his hand, trails her fingers along it before letting her hand drop away.

He clears his throat. “Um, did you finish _Fingersmith_?” he asks her after a brief struggle to think of something, _anything_ , to say.

She nods. “Right before we landed. I’ll lend it to you. You’ll like it.”

“And then we can watch the movie.” Finally. Jaebum has been wanting to see The Handmaiden ever since he first heard about it, but Jinri had insisted that they both read the book it was based on first. 

She nods again, then rests her head on his shoulder. “And discuss. Lots of discussion.”

Jaebum nods, too, then carefully reaches across her and pulls his sweater so that it covers her thighs. 

Jinri hums sleepily. “Tucking me in, oppa?” she asks.

“I should,” he murmurs. “You should rest. You work hard.”

“Not hard enough,” she says with a soft sigh.

More than hard enough, but he knows that no one will ever be able to convince her of that, not even him. “You can go rest for a while,” he says again. “No one will mind.” The rest of their members, after all, are punch drunk and chattering, everyone trying to talk with the Tuans at once. Jaebum and Jinri are the only quiet ones—except for their managers, who he realizes are looking Jaebum and Jinri’s way. 

Jaebum looks away and hopes that he won’t have to deal with that tomorrow. 

“Come with me?” Jinri asks.

Jaebum lets himself imagine it, just for a moment; Jinri in his arms, a whole bed to themselves instead of the confines of their dorm sofa. Peace and quiet and warmth; a world of their own, if only for a little while. Then he glances at the managers again and shakes his head. “Better not.”

Jinri sighs, her soft breath fanning against his neck. “Then I’ll stay with you.”

He is so tempted to turn his head and kiss her temple—kiss her everywhere, always—but that would definitely get him another conversation with the managers tomorrow, if not tonight. _Military service_ , he reminds himself with a sigh, and finally pops the fry she gave him into his mouth. Anything to resist temptation.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s just as well Jaebum has gotten so much practice in keeping his reactions and feelings to himself, because he needs all of it and then some during their KCON panel. 

Not the entire time: the first part is fun, as the group is introduced to their cheering fans and fields some easy questions, their translator—and Jackson and Mari, from time to time—quickly relaying the interviewer’s words. Jaebum stays quiet: he prefers watching Mari, Jackson, and Bambam field the majority of the questions, Yugyeom and Jinri chiming in when they can. They have both been working on their English, studying with the others during what little free time they get so that they could speak to their international fans more this year. Jaebum and Youngju have been studying, too, but they still both hold back from saying too much. The last thing Jaebum wants is to say something wrong and be laughed at, and Youngju has told him before about how she has the same worries.

Unfortunately, he ends up getting drawn in when the conversation turns to We Got Married.

“I’m glad Sehun’s a good husband,” the interviewer says after Jinri shares a quick anecdote about Sehun taking care of her during an unexpected rainstorm while filming. “What about you, JB? You had some reservations.”

As the translator relays the question, Jaebum puts on a smile. He had known something like this would come up, and Jackson had even helped him prepare a brief English response. Jaebum hopes that all he will need to do is carefully recite: “If Jinri’s happy, that’s what’s important.”

“What a good leader!” the interviewer says over the fans’ applause. “Have you thought about going on the show, too? Maybe Jinri and Sehun could find you a wife from SM.”

Jaebum abruptly understands why everyone laughed so much as soon as the translator hastily finishes relaying the question. “I, um,” he begins, inwardly cursing himself. He should have known that a joke like this would come up.

“PD-nim says one marriage at a time,” Jinri cuts in with a laugh that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

The interviewer doesn't take the hint. “And what’s your ideal type, JB?”

Jaebum can’t stop himself from looking at Jinri. _Mistake_ , his brain screams as he stares into her wide eyes. He fumbles. “Um…”

Even Jinri misses a beat, but she’s still the first to recover. “Don’t look at me,” she teases over the screams of their fans. “It’s your turn.”

“You know hyung best, noona,” Bambam chimes in. Always quick to distract, their Bambam. Jaebum spares a moment to be grateful.

He knows his own answer, of course. Once he would have been able to answer the ideal type question in his sleep, he was asked it so often. But it’s been a while since anyone has asked them such a stereotypical question, so it takes him a moment to remember the days Jackson had helped him practice how to say it in English. “Someone I can’t stop thinking about,” he says carefully. 

“What about looks?”

Jaebum shakes his head. He had only ever answered the ideal type question with a physical description once; a few months after JJ Project had debuted, when he had described his then-girlfriend as his answer in a magazine interview, defiantly shoving down thoughts of Jinri all the while. Mari had come to him afterwards, her voice colder than he had ever heard it as she had warned him not to say things that make Jinri cry anymore. 

“That doesn’t matter,” he says now. _Just someone who catches my eye_ , is the usual other half of his answer, but he doesn’t remember how Jackson had taught him to phrase that. 

It’s probably just as well he couldn’t finish, Jaebum thinks wryly as Bambam deftly jumps back in and steers the conversation to Yugyeom. Given how much he’s been staring at Jinri lately, it’s become an answer much too close to the truth.

 

 

 

 

 

Jaebum loves performing in America, and their KCON stages are no exception. The crowd is electric, green ahgabongs flashing everywhere he looks, and the energy carries GOT7 through their set. He feels like he’ll never stop smiling.

They’re all boisterous when they and the other groups that perform that night return to the stage for the encore, bouncing around and waving to the cheering fans. Jaebum finds Hyunwoo and hangs on him for a few minutes, waving gleefully to the crowd and trading half-heard compliments with Hyunwoo.

He catches sight of Jinri, arm-in-arm with Hyolyn, and waves to them both. Hyolyn grins and says something in Jinri’s ear, who laughs, then bows to Hyolyn and offers her her hand. Hyolyn takes it and they make their way to Jaebum and Hyunwoo.

By now they have all gotten the signal to leave the stage, so the quartet starts filing off almost as soon as they’re united.

“You guys were great!” Hyolyn says, including both Jaebum and Hyunwoo in the compliment.

“You, too, noona!” Jaebum says, and Hyunwoo nods.

They are almost to the stairs when Jinri turns back, then sighs loudly. “Our children,” she says, nudging Jaebum.

Sure enough, Jaebum looks back, too, and finds that Bambam and Yugyeom are still onstage, obliviously waving to the still wildly cheering fans.

“A parent’s job is never done,” Hyolyn teases.

Jaebum feigns a heavy sigh and follows Jinri back, wrangling their maknaes to the stairs.

“Can’t we stay here forever?” Bambam complains.

Yugyeom nods. “I wanna do, like, a hundred more songs!”

“Maybe we’ll just leave you guys here and go back to Korea,” Jaebum teases.

He has to admit that the problem with KCON is just a few songs are never enough—he can still feel the adrenaline from performing pulsing through him, the addictive energy the crowds had given them so much of tonight heating his blood. All that energy and nowhere to direct it… 

He’s nearly vibrating by the time he speedily changes back into his street clothes and thanks the staff members, then exits the dressing room—

Only to come face to face with Jinri.

She’s wearing sweat shorts and an oversized shirt instead of her tight, backless stage dress, her sweat dampened hair sticking to her temples, fully made up face pink with exertion, her eyes dark as they stare at each other.

Jaebum knows they feed off fans’ energy the same way, feel it in their bones long after the performance is over. One day, he can’t help thinking, they’ll be able to act on it together; he’ll be able to pick her up and carry her to the nearest private space and…

Her lips part, like she’s having the same kind of desperate thoughts he is; he steps forward, an incredible wave of _need_ sweeping over him, and she reaches out—

And then Hyunwoo says, “Oh.”

They startle apart and turn jerkily to where Hyunwoo is watching them. It’s a shock to remember that anyone but Jinri exists, and that there are any number of people bustling through this hallway, though most of them seem too preoccupied to notice Jinri and Jaebum at all.

Hyunwoo knows what he’s walked in on, though. His gaze goes from one of them to the other.

“We’re going out,” he says at last. “Jooheon knows a few places. Do you want to come?”

Los Angeles clubs. Jaebum and Jinri would be just two people there, lost in the crowds. If there was ever an opportunity for them to steal a chance together, this might be it.

All at once he remembers watching a We Got Married episode where Sungjae and Joy went to a club in Korea together, and can’t help imagining Sehun and Jinri in their place. “We shouldn’t,” he says. “Or, I’m just—do you want to go, Jinri?”

Jinri shakes her head. Some of the light has gone out of her face. “I have to film an interview for We Got Married,” she says. “They want some more footage for the…” _Honeymoon episodes_ , she doesn’t say. She doesn’t have to. 

Jaebum swallows. “Oh.”

“But you should go, oppa.” A small smile flits across her face. “You can tell me all about it.”

He’s tempted. It would be fun, and a way to get rid of the energy in his veins. But getting lost in a crowd of faces he’ll never see again isn’t much fun for him anymore, and there isn’t a beat in the world all-consuming enough to make him forget how much he would want Jinri there with him.

“I’m going to go back to the hotel and get some sleep,” he says instead, and watches as a relieved expression crosses her face. 

One day, Jaebum tells himself; thinks it again a few minutes later, as he and Hyunwoo watch Jinri walk away to go put on a wedding ring and talk about Sehun. One day…

 

 

 

 

 

The company gave them a free day before they have to fly back, so after breakfast at the Tuan house the members part ways. Mari is spending the day with her family, while Jackson and Yugyeom meet up with friends, so the other four are left to their own devices.

“Let’s go to Hollywood Boulevard!” Bambam suggests. “We can do lots of shopping there, and you guys really need to see it.”

“Isn’t it crowded?” Jaebum asks doubtfully. He knows he should take the opportunity to see America while he can, but things have been so hectic lately that all he really wants is time to rest, not spend the day constantly doing head counts and maneuvering his way through throngs of people.

“They have a Hot Topic,” Bambam tells him.

Jaebum hesitates, visions of superhero and anime merch floating in his head. “Okay, as long as we go there first.”

Manager in tow, they pile into their rental van and head out. Jaebum dozes on the way, waking up only when Jinri touches his arm and points out an especially striking view.

“We could write a whole album if we stayed here,” Jaebum murmurs as he drinks it in.

“One day,” Jinri says wistfully. Jaebum smiles at her, can’t help it, and she smiles back. She begins to lean toward him, like she wants to pillow her head on his shoulder, but then she glances up at the manager, sighs, and rests her head on Youngju’s shoulder instead.

The walk to the shopping center is slow enough, thanks to the many people that throng the hot streets, including ones who stop abruptly to take pictures with the stars carved in the pavement beneath their feet. Jaebum, Youngju, and Bambam all have their phones out, too—Bambam is taking lots of pictures, while Jaebum and Youngju are playing Pokémon Go. There are a multitude of stops to raid, and plenty of Pokémon to catch. Jaebum already feels better about agreeing to go.

Hot Topic proves to be in a huge shopping center. Bambam unerringly leads them up to the third floor, the others staring around all the while.

“We can get something to eat, too,” he suggest over his shoulder. "There's churros back downstairs. And Starbucks."

"Churros!" Youngju says.

Jaebum nods in fervent agreement, though his rumbling stomach is soon forgotten as he browses Hot Topic. He catches sight of Jinri looking up at the speakers and grimacing, presumably at the store’s choice of heavy metal songs, but even she buys a few things for Mari before they leave.

Shopping bags in hand, they have just started to follow Bambam across the downstairs courtyard when Jinri stops short. “Youngju, look,” she says, pointing.

Jaebum, long since familiar with that tone, feels his stomach sink even before he follows her finger to the Victoria’s Secret across from them.

“Oh!” Youngju says in surprise, then looks at Jaebum and Bambam. “Do you guys mind if we go in?”

“They’ll be fine,” Jinri says, then smiles sunnily at Jaebum. “Right, oppa?”

He sighs. “Right.”

“Come on, Youngju-ah,” Jinri says cheerfully. “Let’s buy you something pretty.”

The girls duck into Victoria’s Secret, holding hands and giggling. 

Jaebum tugs on Bambam’s arm, averting his attention from the supersized poster of a beautiful, lingerie-clad model. “You wanted to get churros, right?” Jaebum reminds him. “I’ll treat.”

 

 

 

 

 

The girls meet them on the third floor for lunch half an hour later, both holding pink striped bags. Jaebum tries not to let himself wonder what Jinri bought, or picture her in any of the underwear he had been able to see from outside the store. As usual when it comes to Jinri, he’s unsuccessful.

“You should bring Sehun oppa here,” Youngju suggests as they eat. “That would be cool to see.”

“What are you gonna do, anyway?” Bambam asks. “Other than the beach, I mean.”

Jaebum scowls at the thought. Sehun and Jinri, hand in hand on the beach—

And then he’s abruptly jerked out of his jealous reverie when _he_ feels Jinri’s hand—though instead of slipping it into his, she’s casually rested it just above his knee under the table.

Jinri doesn’t so much as blink as she continues, “We’ll probably eat a few places, do some shopping. We both want to go to Disneyland, but we’re not sure if there will be too many fans there.”

“You could come here,” Youngju comments, then grins. “Though maybe not to _all_ the same places.” 

“I don’t know, maybe they should,” Bambam teases. 

They both laugh at the idea, and after a beat Jinri does, too. Jaebum, meanwhile, nearly chokes on his meal as Jinri’s hand slides higher up his thigh. Jaebum lets his legs fall open, automatic, and she gives his thigh a quick squeeze. He doesn’t think she’ll go further than this, but then, he hasn’t been able to predict her since they arrived in LA—

“ _Hyung_ ,” Bambam says, laughing again, and Jaebum’s attention snaps to him. “I said, do you want to get boba tea on our way back to the hotel, too?”

Jaebum clears his throat. “Oh. Yeah.”

“What happened, hyung?” Youngju teases.

“I was, uh, thinking about the album,” Jaebum lies.

“You work so hard,” Jinri says sweetly, with just the slightest emphasis on the last word.

Jaebum raises his eyebrows at her. She tips her head sideways, eyes widening with feigned innocence, and he narrows his own. 

“We’re still here, you know,” Youngju teases them. “You shouldn’t talk to each other without us.”

“You should do that next time we’re on We Got Married,” Bambam says, taking another bite of his pizza. “Then they’ll know who Jinri noona is really married to.”

Bambam and Youngju both snicker. But Jaebum has to admit, he likes that idea.

 

 

 

 

 

“I’m supposed to buy Sehun a souvenir, too,” Jinri says as they step out of the Ghirardelli store a little while later. “Let’s see if we can find something.”

“There’s a big souvenir shop back that way,” Bambam says helpfully, pointing back down the road. “I went there last time.”

“Do you remember where?”

“I can find it.”

They trail after him, Jaebum pulling his bucket hat lower to avoid the sun as best he can. There’s a nice breeze, at least—Los Angeles almost always has nice breezes. He’s winding down, more than ready to be done with the walking and heat and constant flashes of worry whenever he momentarily loses sight of the others amidst the crowds of tourists and street performers. 

Jinri glances at him over her shoulder, like she’s reading his mind, but it’s Youngju who, following her gaze, gives Jaebum a sunny smile and takes his hand.

“Ready for a nap, oppa?” she asks with exaggerated sympathy.

“Always,” he says dryly, then calls ahead to Bambam, “How much further?”

“One more block!” Bambam says. Then, after a split-second pause, “I think.”

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Jinri teases him.

“Trust me, noona,” Bambam says. “I couldn’t forget.”

Jaebum understands what he means the second they see it: the store is almost fully open to the outside, huge archways in lieu of doors, so the first thing he sees is a wall full of snapbacks with a giant, definitely memorable slogan above it.

“‘Cali Swag’ baby!” Bambam says, flinging his arms out—nearly hitting Youngju, who yelps and blocks him just in time. Not for the first time, Jaebum is reminded almost eerily of Jackson.

The shop has all sorts of things, not just snapbacks—typical things like clothes and mugs and keychains, and then items for all sorts of shows and franchises. They all part ways before too long, each of them picking up items for the last people on their shopping lists. After he’s chosen a miniature snow globe to bring back to his mother, Jaebum decides to go looking for the others. 

He finds Jinri looking at tiny statues designed to look like Academy Awards. “Practicing for when you win one?” he teases.

There’s an odd smile on her face as she says, “Gift shopping,” though he doesn’t understand her expression until he looks at the plaque at the base of the plastic statue and reads ‘Best Husband’.

Jaebum’s stomach drops. He would have thought that everything, Sehun included, would be easier now that he and Jinri got all their feelings out in the open. Instead every moment feels more… fraught, somehow.

“None for ‘best puppy’?” he asks. He even tries to smile, though it feels so weak that he’s sure it would have gotten him a scolding had their acting instructors seen it.

Jinri’s responding attempt isn’t much better. “Maybe I should keep looking.”

Jaebum almost rests his hand reassuringly on her lower back, but at the last moment thinks better of it and pulls his hand away. The missed touch sparks through him anyway. She shivers, just barely, but enough for Jaebum to know that she feels it, too.

 _Military service_ , he thinks, the words already worn through, weighed down by the idea of them spending years just out of each other’s reach.

 

 

 

 

 

Jaebum has just enough time for his afternoon nap before they go to the Tuans’ for dinner. It’s a fun evening, as always, with the kids running around and everyone talking at once. It’s an unspoken rule that they live in the moment when they’re with the Tuans, no talking about how much they’ve missed each other or thinking about how this time tomorrow the GOT7 members will be on their way back to Korea.

(Most of them, Jaebum thinks, his gaze darting to Jinri every time the thought of leaving her behind sears through him.)

Once they’ve all said goodbye and are back at the hotel, Noyoung gathers them all in the hallway. “The We Got Married staff gave me some notes for you,” he says, handing papers out to them. “They’re only going to use a minute or two of footage of us leaving, and they want to mostly get natural interactions, but there are a few things they want you to do.” He glances at Jaebum. “Jaebum, they want to make sure they get more footage of you being protective of Jinri. Ask her some questions about what she’ll be doing in LA, that sort of thing.”

It’s an effort for Jaebum not to crumple the paper in his hand. He just nods in agreement, not trusting himself to speak.

He barely takes in the rest of what Noyoung says, but they’ve flown often enough that he knows the usual recitation of reminders, anyway. He knows to pack his things, he knows to triple check to make sure he brings his ID. 

Most of all, he knows that he'll only have five members to keep track of at the airport, not six.

It’s not the first time they’ll have been apart, and certainly not the longest they’ll have gone without seeing each other. But he doesn’t like the idea of leaving her when things between them are constantly shifting, and he really doesn’t like the idea of Sehun being by her side instead. She doesn’t have feelings for Sehun, or for anyone else, he trusts her completely on that, but seeing her pretend to, knowing so many fans hope she does…. it still doesn’t feel right. 

It doesn’t take Jaebum long to pack, since he tends to keep his hotel rooms as neat as he does his own bedroom. Once he’s ready Jaebum flops onto his bed and starts scrolling through his phone in the hope of finding something distracting, pointedly ignoring the We Got Married notes waiting on his bedside table. 

“Don’t fall asleep before you wash up,” Jackson warns him from the other bed, though he doesn’t sound very awake, himself. “Skin care, hyung.”

“I won’t,” Jaebum says around a yawn, his eyes already drifting shut.

He’s startled back to awareness as he hears a knock at their door.

“Not it,” he grumbles into his pillow.

Jackson sighs loudly. “Hyung—”

“That’s right, I’m your hyung.”

“That’s an abuse of authority, hyung!” Jackson declares, but gets up and goes to the door, grumbling all the while about the hard life of a dongsaeng—until he opens the door and stops talking completely, then makes an odd, wheezing noise. 

Jaebum looks up from his phone, taking in the sight of Mari in an 852 hoodie so baggy that he can’t even see if she’s wearing shorts underneath, and then sighs heavily. “I’m going, I’m going,” he says.

“To my room,” Mari says, not taking her eyes off Jackson’s. “Noyoung oppa is with Yugyeom and Bambam.”

“I know,” Jaebum assures her, his heart thumping at the thought of being with Jinri in her room, even if it’s just a temporary one.

The last thing he hears before they close the door behind him is Mari saying, “Want to see what I bought today?” and Jackson loudly whimpering.

There’s no reason for him to be nervous, Jaebum insists to himself as he strides to the girls’ hotel room. He’ll just spend an hour or so hanging out with Jinri and Youngju. That’s all. 

Jinri opens the door almost as soon as he knocks. He’d had a hazy fantasy about her being in pajamas, comfortable and domestic, but she’s still in the same skirt and sleeveless blouse she wore to dinner.

“Mari and Jackson kicked me out, so I’m hanging out with—you two?” He peers past her, but doesn’t see any sign of Youngju. Maybe she’s in the bathroom. Or stepped out to take a phone call from Jongdae. Or—

“Just me,” Jinri corrects him with one of her enigmatic smiles. “Youngju is with the maknaes.”

“Oh.” Jaebum takes a step back. He knows danger when he sees it, and the two of them alone in a hotel room isn’t a good idea.

But Jinri catches his hand. “Come in, oppa.”

“We shouldn’t,” he croaks. “Last time—”

“It’s America,” she says. “Nothing we do here counts.”

That can’t be true. Not with him and Jinri. Everything between them counts to him, more than anything else ever has. “But…”

“I want you,” she says. There’s a whole world of meaning in her low voice, in her dark, steadfast eyes. “Don’t you want me, too?”

He nods and abruptly picks her up, frees one hand long enough to yank the door shut behind him as he goes inside. They’re kissing fervently as he gets them to the nearest bed, somehow avoiding tripping over anything on his way. Everything they’ve been suppressing since they set foot in America—since they first met, really—is bursting out at once, impossible to hold back anymore. Jaebum isn’t sure why they waited all this time, how they will be able to go back to subduing this again—but that’s a worry for when he can think again, when he’s not drowning in Jinri.

Halfway through kissing his way down her neck, Jaebum notices something. “You smell different,” he says hazily. The perfume Jinri usually wears is more floral; this is sweeter, and reminds him of… vanilla, maybe?

“I bought it today,” Jinri tells him. She turns her head, murmuring in his ear, “It’s called ‘Tease’.”

Jaebum has to laugh, albeit brokenly, resting his face against the crook of her neck. Jinri giggles, too, and he glances up at her again, fondness matching arousal as he sees her real, full, eye-crinkling kitten smile shining.

“It suits you,” he says at last, cupping one hand against her cheek.

“You like it,” she returns.

“Yeah,” he murmurs, not sure anymore if they’re talking about the perfume or about the coy ways Jinri has spent years perfecting. It doesn’t matter; all that matters is Jinri pulling him down for another kiss, how soft and warm and perfect she feels underneath him, how there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to have this every night of his life. But if this is all he’ll get, at least for now, then he’ll make the most of it.

“Do you want to see what else I got today?” Jinri murmurs. The invitation he’d laughed at overhearing Mari give Jackson sounds sultry coming from Jinri, making him feel even hotter. He hadn’t known that was possible, that he could need Jinri more.

“Yes,” he says hoarsely.

She smiles. “You’ll have to help me take some things off, first,” she says, and he hurries to obey.

Too quickly—his fingers fumble with the buttons of her blouse, more trouble than he can remember having since he was a nervous teenager. The way Jinri keeps kissing his neck isn’t helping. Jinri finally takes mercy on him and even helps him with the last few. 

He’d half-expected her to have chosen something black and dangerous, but the white, lace-embroidered bra she has on is more sweet than anything.

“I thought you might like me like this,” Jinri tells him.

She’s nervous, too, he realizes as he tears his gaze away from the swell of her breasts to meet her eyes. It knocks the wind out of him a little, thinking about his Jinri being anxious about this, about him; thinking about her shopping in that pink, provocative store, trying these things on and imagining what he would think. Imagining being here with him, like this, tonight…

“I’d like you in anything,” he tells her quietly.

Her gaze softens and she pulls him close again, though this time instead of leading to anything else she just straddles his waist and holds onto him. He clings to her, too, honestly glad for the pause, for a moment to just connect.

“You’ll like me out of it, too,” she says with a hushed laugh, the catch in her voice and the soft press of her lips to his temple a gentle counterpoint to the flirtatiousness of her words.

He nuzzles her neck, giving him déjà vu to just a few minutes ago, her new perfume curling through him as he takes a deep breath. “Tease,” he says thoughtfully.

“Not anymore,” Jinri murmurs, then whines as he presses an open mouthed kiss to her pounding pulse point. “No more teasing, just—touch me, Jaebummie, _please_ —”

Jaebum is overloading, body and brain and heart; he’d have the bra off in a heartbeat if he weren’t kissing her at the same time, but he’s never been able to resist Park Jinri and it’s even more impossible tonight. So he fumbles initially, but then the clasp is open and her soft breasts are filling his hands for the first time and they’re kissing like their lives depend on it, gasping into each other’s mouths as Jinri grinds down against him. 

“Shirt—off—” Jinri pants between kisses, her hands streaking under his shirt, soft and frantic. 

“But—your—” _But then I can’t touch you_ , is what he means to point out, but the words get lost in ever more kisses, in the way she sighs as he circles her nipples with his thumbs. They’re stiff already, making him wonder dizzily if she’s wet, too; what it would feel like if she is, if he could feel it as he slipped into her… Not that it’ll happen, they can’t take that chance, but he can’t help imagining it, anyway.

“Shirt off _fast_ ,” she says with a ragged laugh. He kisses his way along her jaw, grumbles an objection against the soft skin, and she turns her head, murmuring in his ear, “I want to see you, oppa, _please_.”

And he can’t deny her that, he can’t deny her anything, so he reluctantly drops his hands, stripping off his T-shirt with a speed perfected during years of stage outfit changes.

Jinri sighs, a quiet note of satisfaction. Then she trails her hands down his chest, like it’s the first time she’s seeing it, then back up again. Her gaze focuses where one of her soft palms rests over his pounding heart. “ _Mine_ ,” she says, her eyes dark as they lift to his.

It’s so perfectly a sum of his feverish thoughts that he pulls her in before he’s even thought about it. She doesn’t miss a beat, wrapping her legs around his waist as he scoops her up, then lies her on her back and leans over her, kissing her hungrily. She more than matches him, cupping his face in her hands and nudging his back with her heels, bearing him down further until his chest touches hers, the hard tips of her nipples dragging across his skin. 

Jaebum kisses her again, then lifts his head and looks down at her as a sudden thought strikes him. “What are we—what do you want us to do, Jinri?” he asks, his voice catching. He’ll do anything, he’ll give her whatever she wants, and the last thing he wants either of them to do right now is think, but he needs to know what she wants. He needs to take care of her, always.

Jinri looks up at him with hazy, dilated eyes, then licks her kiss-swollen lips and reaches under her pillow, never once looking away from him. “Whatever you want,” she says softly as she pulls her hand back out and holds three condoms up to him.

Jaebum’s jaw drops. “What—where—” He has a sudden, mad vision of Dispatch posting pictures of Jinri and Youngju on a condom run in America. 

“Mari unnie,” Jinri says, then wrinkles her nose. “The homies gave her a lot.” 

Jaebum chokes out a laugh. “Did you thank them?”

“There’s only one thing I’m going to do,” she tells him, her gaze dropping to his mouth. He takes the hint and leans back in, only for her to press a fingertip to his lips inches before they meet hers. “Aren’t you forgetting something, oppa?”

He blinks at her. “Probably,” he says blankly. It’s hard to think of anything when he wants her this much, when it’s sinking in that they can finally do this, after all these years—

“You said you’d help me take some things off.” She wriggles pointedly under him, but she’s not as cool as she seems; she sighs, almost inaudibly, as the movement has her pressing against where he’s throbbing for her, an echo of what’s about to happen, _finally_ —

This time when Jaebum leans down, his mouth desperately seeking hers, she responds ardently, tipping her head back and sinking her fingers into his hair. Her legs tighten around his waist as he grinds down against her, Jinri effortlessly following the rhythm he sets. He has a mad vision of them just yanking the layers of clothing between them out of the way so that Jaebum can finally sink inside her, and moans, his cock throbbing at the thought. One day, he insists to himself, his fingers curling around the condoms to ground himself. One day, when they don’t have to be this careful. 

And besides, as much as he wants to do this right now, there’s something else he wants, needs, to do first. He tears his mouth away from hers with some difficulty, then murmurs in her ear, “Is that all you have to show me?”

“Greedy.” Jinri laughs huskily, the sound turning into a whimper as he nips at her earlobe, presses a kiss just under her jaw. Then she admits, “One more thing.” 

He makes a noise of acknowledgement, as occupied now with kissing her neck as with what he’s trying to ask. She’s so soft, so addictive. “What is it?” he dazedly remembers to ask.

She presses her hands to his chest, leaves them there for a moment as if she’s debating whether to push him back or pull him closer, then sighs and gives him a light push after all. “Help me with my skirt?” she suggests.

Thankfully for his sanity, there are no zippers or buttons involved, just elastic. They push her skirt down together, and Jaebum’s breath catches, then whooshes out of him as he takes in the sight of her, the creamy skin he’s never seen and the black, low-cut panties that look more like what he’d been expecting from her.

“I thought you might like this style better,” she says, suppressed laughter in her voice as he stares. “Do you know the point of these, oppa?”

“The point?” he repeats blankly. Not just because of the panties; not even mainly because of them, though even this far gone he knows better than to say that about something she’s so clearly planned to have maximum effect. Just because it’s Jinri. 

She rolls onto her side, away from him, so that he can see the criss-crossing ribbons at the top, and how the material is cut high and bares the cheeks of her ass, full and gorgeous. “They’re called cheekies,” she says. 

He can hear the smile in her voice, along with ringing in his ears, but he can’t tear his eyes away from the sight in front of him long enough to see her expression. Now he understands just why she’s been building up to this. Jaebum can’t believe he’s this lucky—that he’s allowed to touch, to worship…

So he does—he leans over Jinri and kisses his way down her spine, his hands on her hips until he reaches her lower back. He listens, remembering her reaction when she had touched her here last time; sure enough, he feels her shiver beneath his hands as he just barely mouths a path toward the waistband of her panties, his palms sliding down to cup the perfect curves of each cheek. 

He brushes his lips against the small of her back, then pulls away just enough to stare, to savor—this isn’t something they can risk photographs or videos of, not with saesangs out for every piece of them they can get. This is something he has to commit to memory, and he wants to make sure he remembers every tiny detail.

He doesn’t fully realize he’s started rubbing small circles against her skin until she shivers. “Oppa—don’t you want—” she murmurs, pleasure-clouded confusion drawing her words out.

“Yeah,” Jaebum agrees immediately, because he does, he wants _everything_. He starts back over the path he had kissed earlier, except this time he nips at her instead. Jinri whimpers, her hips starting to grind against the mattress.

 _What if_ , he thinks, and slips one hand between her waist and the mattress, cupping her through the satiny fabric of her panties and greedily drinking in her responding moan. She’s so wet already; delirious with it, he imagines finally being able to sink into her. He’s so close, finally—

But first he wants to see how many ways he can make Jinri fall apart. “Can I—” he begins.

“Yes,” she says breathlessly.

He slips two fingers under the fabric and into her, dizzy all over again with how easily she takes them, how the wet heat of her sucks them inside. That’ll be his cock soon; the thought makes him press his face against the small of her back for a moment, trying to remember how to breathe.

“ _More_ ,” she whines. Jaebum obeys, always, fucking her with his fingers for just a few seconds before curling his thumb and stroking her clit as best he can at this angle. She’s trembling beneath his wandering mouth, squeezing around him as he adds a third finger.

Jinri curls her hands tighter against the sheets. Her face is turned away from his, her moans muffled into the pillow; it kills him, suddenly, how badly he wants to see her expression right now.

Impulsively he pulls his hands away, dark satisfaction rushing through him as she whines in protest, then rolls her onto her back. She’s a flushed, sweat-glistened mess, her eyes glazed and her lips so red and swollen. She’s so much more than Jaebum could have dreamed of wanting.

It’s a sight Jaebum knows he’ll never forget—Park Jinri, the most self-disciplined person he knows, letting go completely just for him. Trusting him to take care of her.

Jaebum stares at her, the upper hand abruptly slipping from his grasp. “Can I…” he stammers. There are so many things he could ask for, so many things he wants.

Jinri nods, reaching for him. “Anything,” she promises breathlessly.

Jaebum leans up and kisses her again—how has he ever been able to hold out against kissing her? How will he ever be able to resist after tonight?—and then kisses his way back down her body. He already has one hand back between her legs, and smiles against her quivering stomach as she twists beneath him, panting and whimpering and bucking up against him, looking for more. 

Anything, she had said; it’s what he would tell her, too, if she asked. 

The clock is ticking in the back of both of their minds, though; while he would have slowed things down if he could have, he doesn’t argue as Jinri makes work of her panties in seconds, has all but forgotten about them by the time she tosses them aside, much too distracted by what she’s revealed. He’s touched her here, will be inside her soon, but first he wants to taste, is so starved for her his mouth waters.

“Like what you see?” she murmurs, stroking a hand through her hair. He just nods, not sure he even remembers how to speak, and can hear the smile in her voice as she asks, “Going to do something about it?”

He nods again, though he takes a moment to kiss her palm before he leans in. He’s still overwhelmed by feeling how wet she was earlier, and seeing it, smelling her, has him dizzy. One slow, broad lick is enough for him to be hopelessly addicted, to know that even if they had all the freedom in the world he could never get enough of her taste; of anything about her.

Jinri sighs, her legs falling further open; he can’t resist the impulse and turns his head, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to her inner thigh, so high up that he knows even stage outfits won’t show. She whimpers his name as he keeps going, sucks until he’s satisfied he’s left a mark. Her other leg comes up around the back of his head, her hands sink into his hair, and he takes the hint and switches his attentions back to her cleft. 

After a few more broad, rhythmic licks he trails his tongue up to her clit and sucks, curling two fingers back inside her at the same time, heat pulsing through him as she squeaks and reflexively clutches his head closer to her. He barely even notices that he’s started to grind against the mattress, needs some sort of relief of his own. For all that, he can’t even spare the seconds needed to take his jeans off; all he can think about is what he’s going to do next, what Jinri wants. 

He ends up pulling his fingers out, waits just long enough to hear Jinri begin, “But, oppa, more—” before Jaebum licks his way inside her, more grateful than ever for his long tongue the others have teased him about on broadcast. He strokes her clit at the same time, groans into her as she clutches his hair.

“Oppa, oh god, oppa, you’re so good, you’re—oppa, I’m gonna—more, oppa, I’m—”

Jaebum redoubles his pace and Jinri wails. Her thighs clamp down around his head, her walls around his tongue. Feeling her come, tasting it, drives him even further out of his mind, has him grinding harder against the mattress as he keeps licking her, relishing every tremor, every sticky hot drop, every reminder that he’s the one that’s finally able to give Jinri this—that soon they’ll be able to do so much more—

“Jaebummie—” She tugs at his hair, his shoulder, and he follows without hesitation, lunging back up and claiming another kiss. She moans into his mouth, her hands joining his to fumble with the fastening of his jeans—

And his phone goes off.

Jaebum would have ignored almost anyone right now, but it’s Youngju’s ringtone, and he’s sure she knows what’s happening in this hotel room. If she’s calling despite that, it must be important.

He groans but tears himself away from Jinri, fumbling for his phone. “What?” he snaps.

“Noyoung oppa is going to check the rooms,” she says, her whispered words rushing out. He can hear water running in the background; she must be hiding in the bathroom, using the faucet to cover her voice. Always resourceful, their Youngju. “Yugyeom’s stalling him. _Go_.”

The vast majority of his higher brain function is long gone, but his survival instincts are still intact, and that's enough to propel him into action. “ _Shit_.” Jaebum jumps up from the bed and grabs his shirt. He drops his phone in the process but is vaguely aware of Jinri picking it up and saying something into it, quick and quiet.

As soon as his shirt is on, he sees Jinri holding the phone out to him. “I want—” he begins as he takes it.

She lunges up on her knees and kisses him quickly. “I know,” she tells him, giving him a small smile.

Jaebum does want, more than he could have ever put into words; wants to crawl into bed with her and stay for days, but they’re out of time. The managers let them all get away with a lot, but they’re not going to turn a blind eye to Mari and Jackson or Jaebum and Jinri being alone together in a hotel room. 

As badly as Jaebum wants to disregard that, to disregard all of it and finally claim and be claimed, it all comes back to what was engraved in his heart years ago, what’s held them back all this time and is about to hold them back even more: none of this is only about him and Jinri. They’ve gotten their stolen time, and he can’t ask for more.

Jaebum shuts off the light on his way out, resisting the temptation to take one last look, then hurries across the hall as fast as he can and lets himself into his own room. 

He wasn’t sure what he would be interrupting, but it turns out Jackson and Mari are fully dressed and sitting on different beds, watching Captain America. Mari is even wearing sweatpants. Jaebum wouldn’t suspect a thing if he didn’t know better.

“How?” he demands.

Mari smiles sunnily at him and pats the spot next to her in offering, like it’s her bed for the weekend instead of Jaebum’s. “We’re very good,” she says.

“Maybe one day you’ll be as good as us,” Jackson adds with a grin.

“Bambam warned you first, didn’t he?” Jaebum grumbles as he sits down next to Mari.

Mari pats his thigh, then grins. “You might want to cover up,” she suggests.

Jackson bursts out laughing. “Life’s _hard_ , isn’t it, hyung?” he teases.

Jaebum whips the nearest pillow at him.

 

 

 

 

 

They get through the room check, Mari pretending she hadn’t realized how late it was and obediently heeding Noyoung’s instruction to head to bed. 

Jaebum lies awake for hours after the lights are out, thoughts of what had almost happened—what had happened—whirling through his mind. What does this mean for their agreement? Should they even try to keep it? But if they don’t, what will that mean for the team?

He loses track of the number of times he picks up his phone, only to set it down again without texting Jinri. What is there to say? They need to talk again, but it can’t happen tonight and it can’t happen over text. It’ll need to wait until they have time, and that won’t happen until after she gets back from LA.

Jinri’s kisses are still echoing on his lips, the sense memory of her body under his still buzzing in his veins… but he can still feel that missed touch from Hollywood Boulevard, too. Maybe that was the most real part of their day, after all, that sense of being so close and yet so far; like how there are only a few rooms between them now, but it already feels like she’s a continent away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More notes:
> 
> Jinri's airport outfit at the beginning of the chapters was directly inspired by this Eunha look: https://twitter.com/seungwansxiao/status/848151006257057795
> 
> You can see the Oscar souvenirs on LA LA Land's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/LA-LA-Land-Souvenirs/668673023259232
> 
> In the rated scene Jinri is wearing a Victoria's Secret Lace-Up Cheeky Panty, which you can find on their site! And if you're curious about her usual perfume, it's Daisy by Marc Jacobs. 
> 
> And as for JB's tongue, never forget... https://twitter.com/MY2JAE/status/842634551671234560


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is... much later than I had thought it would be. ;; But as my fortune cookie tonight told me, "It is better to get something done later than never." (Dang, you know you're running late on a project when the universe is even throwing pointed fortune cookies at you. >.< ) 
> 
> I do have a vague idea of posting a set of PWPs set in this universe, but I'm definitely not promising any sort of timeline about when that will be. I've learned my lesson there! But if there's anything you'd especially like to read featuring any pairing, just as long as it's set in this au (yes, even past things like Jinri/Mari, or futurefic) feel free to toss suggestions my way. I'm at the brainstorming stage right now, so all thoughts are welcome.
> 
> I hope that you enjoy this chapter, and I'm so sorry for the long wait.

Jaebum had been sure that he knew how hard going back home without Jinri would be.

Turns out he had had no idea.

With American fans and ever-present fan sites taking pictures and the We Got Married cameras collecting footage to use for Jinri and Sehun’s honeymoon episode, Jaebum is all too aware that he needs to be even more careful than usual about keeping his feelings hidden. Appearance is everything in this industry; it’s a tenant he’d agreed to when he had signed his contract with JYPE, but today it weighs even more heavily on him than usual. 

Keeping an eye on the group and making sure no one is waylaid by overzealous fans helps, but still doesn’t completely block out his memories of the night before; the ever-present mental soundtrack of Jinri’s gasps and the way she had moaned his name, the lingering memory of how she had tasted and how soft she had been to touch, how wet--

Jackson elbows Jaebum subtly. He’s staring at Jinri again, Jaebum realizes, and turns partially away, putting on a not-entirely-feigned yawn. He’d barely slept the night before, tossing and turning as he had replayed everything that had happened and wondered _why_. Jinri hadn’t said that she had changed her mind about their agreement to wait to be together, but Jinri doesn’t act on impulse, either. She had gone to all that effort, had spent the day planning it if her shopping trip with Youngju was anything to go by. It could be part of how America brings out a freer side of all of them, but Jaebum doesn’t think Jinri would get that carried away just for fun or pleasure. Not with him.

He wonders if Jinri is thinking about this as much as he is, or if she’s more focused on filming for her honeymoon with Sehun. Jaebum grits his teeth at the thought of sitting through those episodes: Jinri and Sehun shopping, eating together, going to the beach, filming in a hotel room…

Jackson elbows Jaebum again, then slings his arm around him and laughs at nothing in particular. Jaebum smiles automatically, realizing that his thoughts about Jinri and Sehun must have had him grimacing. The We Got Married cameras must be picking up all sorts of footage of him. Maybe he’ll get lucky and they’ll decide not to use any of it, even though they seem to have their cameras trained much more on him than on the other members.

All too soon, it’s time to say goodbye to Jinri. The others go first; Yugyeom, Youngju, Mari and Bambam sweep Jinri in for a group hug, making everyone laugh. Jackson’s hug lingers as he whispers something in her ear and rocks her a little bit, then banters with her over whether or not she’ll buy him a more expensive souvenir than the other members.

Then it’s Jaebum’s turn.

He knows what he’s supposed to say, so he obediently closes the distance between them. He rests his hand on her shoulder, figuring it’s something a protective leader would do for one of his dongsaengs, though the gesture is surprisingly clumsy given how natural touching her had felt the night before. “Have a good time,” he says, “and let me know if Sehun-ssi is any trouble.”

“You’ll fly back for me?” she teases.

“Of course I will,” he says. It’s supposed to be a funny moment for the audience, but Jaebum doesn’t feel like laughing. 

“Thanks, oppa,” Jinri says softly, then hugs him tight. Jaebum returns her embrace just as fiercely, though he forces himself to let her go long before he wants to.

“How did I do?” he asks Youngju once they’re on the plane, though not with much hope.

There’s pity in Youngju’s eyes. “Let’s leave the acting to Jinri unnie,” she suggests, then pats Jaebum’s hand when Jaebum groans. “Get some sleep, oppa.”

Jaebum takes one last look at his phone first. His fingers are itching to at least text Jinri, but he doesn’t. His phone doesn’t light up with messages from her during the final moments before he has to put it in airplane mode, either. There’s so much to say, but this sliver of time isn’t enough for any of it.

Jaebum puts his phone in his pocket, then closes his eyes, though not with much hope. Not when he’s too consumed with thoughts of Jinri—Jinri and Sehun in LA; Jinri with that fixed smile as they’d played their parts in the airport; Jinri’s head on his shoulder as they sleepily talked about Fingersmith that first night in LA; Jinri the night after the We Got Married wedding, desperation in the dark; Jinri in his arms on the dorm couch weeks ago; Jinri conning him out of money during late night grocery runs and holding his hand on the way home. Jinri…

 

 

 

Normally diving right back into comeback preparation would be a blessing, stripping Jaebum of every concern not directly related to their music and concepts. This time it just makes him even more aware that Jinri is gone, that she’s halfway around the world instead of right there with them.

Not that they don’t hear from her. She keeps their group chat full of snapshots of Los Angeles, palm trees and hills and buildings and crowds, pictures of the JYPE and SM managers either laughing at her or trying to duck out of the shot or both. Pictures of herself and Sehun.

“Look, hyung, they went to the beach,” Yugyeom says when Jinri sends a selca of herself looking downright glamorous in a black and white one piece swimsuit and wide-brimmed white sun hat, putting on one of the sultry expressions she uses for fashion magazine photoshoots.

Jaebum gulps. He’s not entirely sure what to do with the mix of emotions—arousal, jealousy that Sehun is the one there with her, and what feels like an ever-growing wave of adoration. 

“We’ll go to the beach next time we go to LA,” Mari says, her tone gentle, and touches his shoulder. “Or have another pool party.”

He must be in a bad way if Mari is taking pity on him, he thinks wryly.

 

 

“The dating ban is stupid,” Youngju grumbles one night when she and Jaebum are taking a break from recording their duet.

“Jongdae-ssi still hasn’t given you his new number?”

“No.” Youngju sighs. “I still think you guys are all crazy for dating in the group, but at least you can see each other.”

“I’m not doing it, either,” he says wearily, tipping his head back against the wall.

“You and Jinri unnie married, I know,” Youngju says around a yawn. Then she rolls her head to the side and looks blearily at him. “Wait, what? You’re still not dating?”

“We can’t,” Jaebum says flatly. “We’ve talked about it. There’s too much—we don’t want to attract attention to you guys, and with We Got Married-“

“Sometimes I really hate this stupid industry,” Youngju says darkly. “Oppa, listen. Our ahgases would support you if they found out you were dating. They know how you guys feel isn’t some fake young love concept like when you first debuted, oppa. You can’t act.” Jaebum snorts in spite of himself, and she smiles wryly. “And you know how they are—they’ve chased off so many people who try to say you and Jinri unnie are too close. We want our ahgases to be happy, but they want us to be happy, too.”

“Yeah,” Jaebum admits, “but that’s not the same thing as really dating.” 

Youngju shrugs. “Sure, but you’re not rookies anymore. If word got out it would be a scandal for a little while, maybe, but people will move on. The dating ban’s almost over, you and Jinri aren’t brand new idols anymore--and we’re _people_. We can’t--we shouldn’t stop wanting things for ourselves”

Jaebum nods. They’ve talked about this before, the two of them, since their views of idol life are so often the same. Sometimes Jaebum thinks they both made a mistake going anywhere near JYPE’s door. “That’s not how it works,” he says reluctantly.

“It should be,” Youngju says. “Nobody should have to live like this. None of us are completely okay trying to hide things, or to not let ourselves have them, not even Jinri unnie.” 

Jaebum immediately goes on alert. “Why especially Jinri?”

“I just mean… don’t you worry about her lately, oppa?”

“I worry about all of you,” Jaebum says wryly. “It’s my job.”

“I know, but I mean… with the show, and with everyone but especially We Got Married—unnie tries so hard to be this perfect idol and give all the fans and viewers what they want. I know she’s always been like that, but it’s… more lately. And none of us can do that forever, not even her.”

“I know,” Jaebum says, frowning at the thought. Jinri does push herself too hard, she always has, and while he’s learned a lot about her over the years, he’s never quite learned how to stop her.

“Oppa, what I’m saying is, you and unnie shouldn’t hold back because you think it would hurt us if you were found out. I’ll support you, and the others will, too.”

“But if you get exposed, too-“

“I’m the least popular anyway,” Youngju says with a small laugh. “But really. Nobody is going to wonder about Bambam and Yugyeom—people will still think it’s fanservice, same as always. The rest of us will be okay.” Jaebum tries to protest, but she takes his hand, her voice more insistent than ever as she continues, “You and Jinri unnie always take care of us. Let us take care of you, too.”

 

 

 

The conversation is still replaying itself in Jaebum’s mind as he tumbles into bed for a few stolen hours of sleep. 

He startles awake when his phone rings. He fumbles for it, assuming it’s a manager reminding him of his next schedule. “Hello?” he says hoarsely, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

“Jaebumie?”

Jaebum startles, his exhaustion forgotten as her the sound of her soft, familiar voice rushes through him. “Jinri?”

“I didn’t think you’d answer,” she admits with a small laugh. “I thought you’d be too busy. Did I wake you?”

“I’m glad,” Jaebum says. He closes his eyes, both because they’re aching and so he can do his best to pretend he’s hearing her for real, not through a phone; that she’s here in his bed again, within his reach. 

“You should sleep.”

“I was going to wake up soon, anyway.” Probably not a lie, he thinks with a silent groan. “How’s LA?”

“Not the same,” she admits.

“Neither is here,” he agrees. She sighs quietly, and he decides to change the topic. “How was the beach?”

“Mm.” Her voice lowers, takes on what he knows is a deliberately sultry edge. “Hot. Wet. _Amazing_.”

Jaebum clutches at the sheets, his breath catching. “Jinri,” he chokes out. 

She giggles. “You’re so easy, oppa.”

Jaebum grumbles wordlessly. He rolls onto his side, curling his arm around his pillow just to have something to hold onto. He wonders where she’s calling from; if she’s in bed, too, or if she’s slipped away for a few minutes somewhere in the city. He can’t bring himself to ask, not when any answer she could give ultimately means she’s so far out of his reach.

He’s getting what was coming to him, he supposes. He teased Jackson so many times over the years for how completely whipped he is by Mari, but Jaebum knows he’s long since become even worse when it comes to Jinri.

“I wish you were here,” he says before he can stop himself. 

Jinri sighs softly. “Me, too.”

They’re quiet for a moment. They were both so wrong about this, Jaebum realizes all at once. He can’t spend years pretending that Jinri is just another member and friend to him. And he doesn’t think Jinri can, either, not after everything that’s happened; not just since We Got Married started, but everything that built for years before that.

“We need to talk,” he says quietly. “Again.”

“I know. As soon as we can.”

“Okay.” Given how packed their schedules are going to be, that’s not the answer he wants to hear, but he knows it’s the best either of them can promise right now.

There are muffled voices on Jinri’s end of the call for a few seconds, and then Jinri says, “I have to go. I’ll be home in two days.”

“I know,” Jaebum says quietly. 

There’s a smile in her voice as she adds, “I’ll bring you a present, oppa.”

Jaebum strokes his hand over the space on the mattress beside him, remembering the night she was there, falling asleep with her in his arms. Imagining what it would be like to wake up with her in the morning. “I just need you,” he mumbles, so close to sleep that he’s not sure if he even said the words aloud.

 

 

 

Between coffee, energy drinks, and Jinri’s preflight selca--she’s wearing Jaebum’s sweater again, which sets Jaebum to vacillating wildly between fantasies of curling up with her for days and fantasies of peeling it off her, followed by everything else she’s wearing--Jaebum is jittery for most of the day leading up to Jinri’s return. 

“You know what we should do?” Bambam says as they ride back to the dorm. “Catch up on We Got Married.” The fact that Bambam is offering to spend some of their nearly nonexistent free time with Jaebum instead of holed up with Yugyeom says a lot. 

Yugyeom lifts his head from Bambam’s shoulder. “ _Bammie_ ,” he hisses.

“What? It’s not like hyung’s going to stop thinking about her--right, hyung?”

Jaebum sighs and checks his phone for texts yet again, just in case, even though her plane isn’t due to touch down yet.

“See?” Bambam tells Yugyeom triumphantly. “And I really want to catch up. The wedding episode is on today.”

“Me, too,” Yugyeom admits. “Can we, hyung?”

Jaebum shrugs. “Sure.”

So they round up some of the snacks their current diets will allow and settle in on the couch for their marathon.

Which ends with that night’s new episode--the wedding episode.

Which includes Jaebum’s scripted speech about wanting Jinri to be happy with someone else; the one that Jaebum had completely forgotten about after Jinri had climbed into his bed that night and wiped his mind of everything but her.

“ _I’ve been by Jinri’s side for a long time, ever since we auditioned. I’ve always tried to take care of her. But I’ve always known it would be someone else’s job someday. I wanted to be sure she’s with a husband who deserves her. I’m glad she has Sehun-ssi_.”

“Hyung,” Yugyeom gasps as they listen to his words, his water bottle slipping through his fingers.

“Noona is going to _kill you_ ,” Bambam predicts, sounding utterly stunned.

Jaebum just stares at the screen. Youngju was right; they’re better off leaving the acting to Jinri. Jaebum can’t act, at all, and there was a palpable heaviness in his voice, a bleakness in how his rueful smile came nowhere close to reaching his eyes. It was more than a scripted speech, and it will be obvious to anyone who knows him. 

“I forgot,” he admits numbly. “I completely forgot.” Some small part of him is surprised that management hasn’t killed him for being that obvious, but that’s a problem for another day. Right now he’s suddenly, desperately worried about what Jinri will think when she sees him talk about letting her go.

Yugyeom pats his shoulder slowly, his hand feeling heavier than usual. “Maybe she won’t see it,” he suggests tentatively, like he’s reading Jaebum’s mind.

“Too late,” comes Jinri’s choked voice from behind them.

Dimly aware of Bambam screaming and dropping his bowl of popcorn, Jaebum whips around and propels himself off the couch, staring in horror at Jinri, who’s staring back at him, her eyes filled with tears.

“You were going to give up on me?” she demands.

“It was a script!”

“I know you! You meant it!”

“I wasn’t-“

“So, what, if the wedding night hadn’t—you would have just let me go? Is that the only reason you didn’t?”

“What do you-“ Yugyeom begins, but Bambam clamps his hand over his mouth.

“No!” Jaebum insists, panic welling up in him. He can’t let her believe that.

Jinri just sobs, the broken sound tearing right through Jaebum, then wheels around and rushes through the girls’ door.

“Go,” Bambam says, shoving Jaebum. Jaebum shakes himself and does, catching the door just before it closes and racing through it.

Jinri hadn’t made it far; she’s slumped against the wall across from him, her face in her hands, shoulders shaking with noisy sobs.

If this had happened all those years ago, when they were first getting used to each other, Jaebum would have frozen in his tracks; now he springs into action immediately, crossing the room as fast as he can and pulling her into his arms. He’s not going to let her retreat, not from him.

“I wasn’t giving up on you.” He holds her tighter. She’s still shaking, but at least her sobs start to quiet. “I wasn’t. I won’t. That whole day was just… I don’t know, I kept thinking, what if one day you wanted me to? What if you met someone else?”

Jinri shakes her head, gripping him tighter. “I won’t,” she chokes out. “Just you.”

His heart leaps. “Me, too,” he promises, kissing her temple. “I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.”

She nods, though it still takes a few minutes for her to settle completely. He holds her all the while, rubbing her back, and even like this part of him can’t help but relish in finally being with her again, where he belongs. 

Jinri sniffles and lifts her head from his shoulder at last. “I hate crying,” she grumbles, swiping tears from her eyes. “I feel disgusting. And I probably smell gross, too, after the flight.”

“You don’t,” Jaebum assures her.

“You’re biased,” she says, in a faint attempt at her usual teasing tone. Then she sighs, lightly touches the tear stains on his shirt. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—I’m just so tired.”

Jaebum frowns, scrutinizing her expression. That’s more than Jinri usually lets herself admit. They’re all tired to the bone, these days, but beneath her red, swollen eyes he can see even more pronounced dark circles, the toll Jinri’s jam-packed schedule takes on her visible even through her foundation. “You should lie down,” he suggests. 

“After I shower.” She grimaces, swiping her hands over her cheeks. “And wash my face. I look awful.”

“You’re beautiful,” he tells her, relief flooding through him when a smile flickers over her face. “Do you need--I don’t know, tea, or water, or anything?”

She shakes her head, looks at him hopefully. “Just… wait for me?”

Normally he’d think twice about lingering in the girls’ side of the dorm, but it’s been a while since the managers have dropped by unannounced. Even if they do, he can deal with them finding him in the wrong part of the dorm. Jinri needs him right now—and he needs her, too.

“I will,” he promises.

 

 

 

It’s been a while since Jaebum was last in Jinri’s room, but it looks much the way he remembers it: as if a major weather event swept through it. He makes his way to her bed gingerly, perches at the edge and starts going through everything he can think of on his phone just for something to do. 

It’s only a little while later when Jinri walks into her room, her hair still damp, wearing baggy shorts and a loose tank top he dimly recognizes as Mari’s. 

She smiles wryly when their eyes meet. “Just me.”

Not just, Jaebum doesn’t say. Never just. Instead he just holds out his hand and she takes it, lets him pull her toward him until she’s standing in front of the bed, between his legs.

They were apart for days, and then for minutes, and Jaebum’s head isn’t much clearer than Jinri’s seems to be. All he knows is that he needs her close. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her close, resting his face against her stomach, something inside him easing as she winds her arms around his neck and leans against him.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’ll forgive you. As long as you never give up on me.”

“Never,” he promises fervently.

She strokes his hair, then tilts his head up and kisses him. He kisses her back, relief flowing through him from this, from just having her back in his arms again. 

Between how emotional earlier had been and how exhausted they both are, he honestly hadn’t known what to expect tonight, only that the pace is Jinri’s to set. She pushes him back slowly until he’s lying down and she straddles his waist, still trading slow, sweet kisses.

He could do this for the rest of the night, but makes himself break away when she starts to rock against him, awash with a vivid sense of deja vu. “Wait,” he says breathlessly, leaning up on his elbows. His whole body hates him for pausing, but he hasn’t forgotten what she said earlier, about wondering if he would have given up on her if she hadn’t come to his room after filming the wedding.

“I’ve _been_ waiting, oppa,” she says, leaning down slowly. The neckline of her shirt gapes, giving him a clear and glorious view of her breasts. He has a sudden, feverish vision of himself pulling the shirt over his head and staying there for hours. 

His mouth dry, he struggles to lift his gaze back to her face, which is so much closer to his now.

“Ever since that night in LA,” she says, lowering her voice. She lowers her hands, too, trailing them down his chest. He can’t remember when he let go of her. “Ever since we met.”

“Me, too,” he says with some difficulty. He wets his lips, torn between gratitude and so, so much regret when her hands stop moving when they reach his waistband. “I just--you should know--I would have kept waiting even if you weren’t in my room. After the wedding, I mean. I don’t need--I mean, I want you, I want to--but even if-” He stops and takes a deep breath, then exhales loudly as Jinri giggles. “I can’t think.”

“I know,” she says coyly.

Jaebum carefully rolls them both over until they’re lying side by side, and immediately drapes his arm over her waist, touching her more a matter of instinct than conscious thought now. Jinri’s dark eyes search his.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he says, looking right back at her. “Even--I mean, we don’t have to do anything right now. You’re tired, and if you need to talk some more or anything, it’s okay. I love you and--I’m not going anywhere. I never would have.” He smiles ruefully, his heart pounding as she keeps staring at him. Of course he loves her, but it still feels strange to say it after all this time. One more way that everything between them is moving forward. One more thing to make it impossible to go back. “Is that-”

She cups her hands against his cheeks and kisses him softly. “I love you, too,” she murmurs against his lips, and it takes everything he has not to kiss her again. “And I know you’ll stay. I know I freaked out, but--I trust you. I’m not doing this to make you stay, I’m just--I want you, Jaebummie-” She kisses him a second time, a third, more, each more intense than the last as they melt against each other.

Exhaustion forgotten for once, all Jaebum wants is more. Everything’s been said, they know where they stand, and Jaebum is finally with Jinri again, where he belongs. Where he’ll always belong.

They’re out of most of their clothes in record time, though Jinri quickly pauses his hands as he starts to push her shorts down. Jaebum immediately lifts his head from where he’d been mouthing a path toward the valley between her breasts, some corner of his mind somehow smugly noting her protesting whine as he does so.

“Did you-” he begins, thrown but ready to change their plans for the night if she’s changed her mind about sleeping with him.

“I’m just getting these,” Jinri says quickly, pulling a pair of condoms out of her pocket. He blinks at them and she smiles, then hands one to him and finally pushes her shorts off herself.

No fancy panties today, Jaebum somehow notes, the thought nearly lost in the rush of arousal. No underwear at all.

“I love you,” he says, dazed, and she laughs and reels him back in to pick up where they left off.

They’ve never been naked together. It’s strange that so much between them is still new, even after years of their friends’ not-quite-jokes about them being an old married couple have rung all too true. Jaebum savors it, savors her, tries to convey in every touch and kiss all the things he can’t say smoothly in real time. Maybe one day he’ll write her a mix tape, every song for her ears alone, everything he feels and loves and wants set to music, but for now all he can do is show her, so he does his best.

Sex with Jinri, it turns out, is just like everything else about her--so much more than Jaebum ever could have imagined. He has no idea how he holds it together for more than a minute when just being inside Jinri is this bone-meltingly hot; when her hands are everywhere, pulling him closer, urging him on, staking her claim all over again; when every second she’s not kissing him she’s gasping or moaning or whispering his name, too far gone for any more teasing. When she’s as desperate as he is for them to be as close as they can get.

Even later, after Jinri cleans up and Jaebum finds a clean blanket and they meet back at her bed, they’re drawn together immediately; Jinri unhesitatingly crawls into Jaebum’s waiting arms, sprawling half on top of him and pillowing her head just beside his heart.

Jaebum somehow summons the energy to turn his head just enough to kiss her hairline. “No more honeymoons without me,” he mumbles.

“Good,” she says around a yawn, then utters a contented sigh and cuddles closer. He gives up the fight to stay awake with her as he hears her breathing even out, as content to follow her into sleep as he is to go anywhere she wants to take him.

 

 

 

Jaebum stirs awake a while later. He’s not sure what time it is; he’s not going to look at the clock when he could look at Jinri instead. 

She’s already awake, already watching him. When their eyes meet she outright beams at him, the full, unrestrained, eye-crinkling smile he loves seeing from her the most. He grins back, thrilled beyond words to see it, to know he’s the one who made her so happy. 

“Stay here tonight,” she says softly.

Jaebum nods, cuddling closer. The entire staff of JYPE couldn’t drag him away from Jinri now. “I’m not going anywhere,” he promises, cupping his hand against her cheek. “I love you.”

She turns her head just enough to kiss his palm, then leans in and kisses him properly. “I bought you something,” she murmurs against his lips.

“More condoms?” Jaebum asks hopefully.

She giggles and gets out of bed, ignoring Jaebum’s protests and grasping hands, then returned with a bundle wrapped in one of her shirts. The same one she’d worn that night in the hotel.

He sits up and unwraps it, laughing when he sees that it’s a second Oscar statue, like the one she bought for Sehun. “'Best lover',” he reads aloud. He’s so glad that _that_ isn’t something he has to worry about pronouncing right in front of their fans. Then he looks up at her, frowning. “Did Sehun still get ‘best husband’?”

“This greedy oppa,” Jinri teases, and sighs contentedly into the kiss he promptly gives her, the statue quickly forgotten in favor of losing themselves in each other again.

 

 

 

The second time Jaebum wakes up is when Jinri’s bedroom door slams open.

His first thought is a jumbled version of _oh god I overslept managers will kill me_. His second thought is a vivid flashback to the night before, to coming undone with Jinri. 

His third thought is pure disbelief as Jackson and Mari catapult themselves onto the bed.

“You’ve gone viral!” Jackson is yelling, and waves his phone in Jaebum’s face.

Jaebum shoves his arm away. “ _What are you doing_?” he demands, fueled by the adrenaline rush the wakeup call had shot through him and the instinctive need to protect Jinri, who’s stirring awake next to him.

Mari scoops up a shirt and hands it to Jinri—Jaebum’s shirt, he realizes as Jinri pulls it over her head.

“You went viral,” Jackson insists again, shoving his phone between Jaebum and the breathtaking sight of Jinri in _his_ shirt, nipples outlined against the black fabric, sitting in the tangle of sheets. 

Jaebum blinks at Jackson’s phone. He can see a picture of himself, but the headline won’t focus. “What-“

“Can we come in yet?” Bambam yells from outside the door.

“Put your clothes on already!” Yugyeom adds.

“You can come in!” Jackson tells them.

Jaebum and Jinri meet each other’s eyes, trading wry smiles as the other three burst in. “One day-“ Jaebum begins, touching her cheek.

“Read it before the managers get here,” Mari cuts in, and Jackson shoves his phone toward them again.

Jaebum grabs it this time, taking a brief moment to enjoy how Jinri drapes himself against his back, her chin on his shoulder, to read along with him. 

But then that goes right out of his mind as he reads. And reads. And reads. Jackson has tab after tab open, all of them articles about last night’s We Got Married. About Jaebum during last night’s We Got Married, and how it had been all too obvious that his feelings for Jinri are anything but platonic.

“Everybody knows,” Jinri breathes in his ear—in obvious fear this time.

“They like it,” Bambam points out. Now it’s his turn to wave his phone, and Jaebum glances his way. “Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube—Jackson looked on Weibo—you’re trending on Twitter, and old fancams are going viral, and Ahgases are telling everyone great things about you, like how you keep taking care of that stray cat-“

“Kunta,” Jaebum corrects him automatically.

“What about We Got Married fans?” Jinri asks, tightening her hold on Jaebum. “Are they angry?”

“I mean, there might be a fan war,” Yugyeom admits, exchanging a glance with Bambam. Then he brightens. “But the point is, lots of people will be on your side, hyung!”

It takes approximately fifteen seconds of them reading out fan comments that prove it before Jaebum can’t take it anymore and buries his face in his hands with a long, embarrassed groan.

Unfortunately for him, JYPE placed him in a group with six other people, four of whom are incredibly talkative and all of whom have sadistic streaks.

“Poor JB oppa!” Youngju reads aloud, her attempt at cooing foiled by disbelieving giggles.

“JB oppa hwaiting!” Yugyeom and Bambam read in unison, drawing the syllables out in an eerily similar way.

Even Jinri massaging the nape of his neck doesn’t make him feel better.

“What do you think the managers will say?” Jackson finally asks, all laughter gone from his voice.

Jaebum looks up, only to find that Jinri is already looking at him. They maintain eye contact, Jinri’s brow furrows, and then they both shrug and turn back to the others.

“It depends on ratings,” Jinri says frankly.

“And how it affects the group,” Jaebum says, frowning. 

“Our ahgases will be supportive,” Yugyeom says.

“We’ll be okay,” Mari says quietly. The others nod, one at a time.

 

 

 

Youngju finally herds the others out, Jackson getting in one last thumbs-up toward them before Mari pulls the door shut. Jaebum and Jinri should be hurrying around, saving this conversation for later, but they’ve done nothing but hurry. Jaebum is rebelling, just this once; they stole a whole night, but he needs a few more minutes, especially after today’s news. 

“One day we’ll get a morning after,” Jinri says with a wry smile as she settles on his lap.

“After military service,” Jaebum says, wrapping his arms around her waist. Then he frowns. “Which might start tomorrow.”

“Or they might decide to start a love triangle storyline on We Got Married,” Jinri points out. Then it’s her turn to frown. “Or they might write me off the show.”

“You’ll be fine,” Jaebum says, though he’s worried, too. Their industry has relaxed over the years--otherwise GOT7 would have had a lot more trouble debuting as a mixed-gender group, not to mention sharing the dorm, when Youngju, Yugyeom, and Bambam were relatively young--but dating rumors with actual weight is pushing them even further into uncharted territory. Jinri has a lot of goodwill behind her, but that hasn’t always protected idols, especially women.

Jinri nods, staring at some point beyond his shoulder, then lifts her gaze back up to meet his. “Jaebum… you haven’t changed your mind back, have you? Do you want to pretend this didn’t…?”

Jaebum immediately shakes his head. “I can’t,” he says honestly. “No matter what--can you?”

“No,” she admits. “I know they won’t let us date publicly yet, no matter what the fans are doing for us, but when it’s just us… I want to have that. Maybe it makes me selfish, but I love you, and I want you to be mine.”

“I’ve always been yours,” Jaebum murmurs. Her expression softens as he cups her cheek, then draws her back in for another kiss. They’d been paired for that audition for a reason, Jaebum is sure of it; as sure as he is that his heart utterly belongs to Jinri; that somehow everything will work itself out. 

Jinri squeezes his hand, leans her forehead against his, and as he stares into her eyes he knows that she’s sure, too.


End file.
